


Blinded by the lights

by EmberPuppy



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Alpha Kelly, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Awkward Conversations, Caring, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort-ish, M/M, Manhandle, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Matt doesnt take shit from anybody, Matt is in serious denial, Mpreg, Omega Matt, Pining, Protective Kelly, Slow Build, The boys are idiots, Worried Kelly, scent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23563579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberPuppy/pseuds/EmberPuppy
Summary: Matthew Casey is the truck lieutenant at Firehouse 51. It is unheard of to have an omega in such an important position, but Casey's made it loud and clear that he wasnt just a needy, helpless little omega. He is a great firefighter and a great leader and he earned everybody's respect through hard work and good decision making. Everything's going great in his life right now ...... But some cheeky, hot as hell squad lieutenant could possibly fuck everything up. And Casey can't allow that.
Relationships: Matthew Casey/Kelly Severide
Comments: 114
Kudos: 242





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There isn't enough of omegaverse with these two, and not enough Alpha Kelly for my liking, I just had to write this.  
> I apologise for any mistake that I might've missed !

Matthew Casey was an omega, but not any omega. He prided himself in being strong and independant and not taking shit from anyone. He was truck lieutenant at Firehouse 51, and though it wasn't usual to have omegas in important positions, Casey worked very hard to get there and deserved every bit of recognition he got. He was efficient at work, was quick to make important decisions in everybody's best interest and seemed to be a natural leader, giving instructions without ever sounding like he was ordering them around, which helped in getting people to listen to him. Of course, it took some time for everybody to adjust to the situation, but in the end, it worked out well. There was a great camaraderie at the firehouse, people got along well and respected each other and they all worked great as a team on the field. Casey thought maybe the squad lieutenant, Kelly Severide, would be a problem, but so far the alpha respected Casey's leadership and never tried to overpower him in any situation, letting him run truck the way he thought best. If he ever thought anything bad against Casey, he never openly mentioned it, and Casey never heard any trash talk behind his back, so things must be alright. Everything went smoothly and worked out well, at least for a while.

Severide was the only alpha in the place, and Casey the only omega. There werent that many alphas or omegas among the population in general, and it was rare to find Omegas in jobs like these. Alphas were more common, but Casey was glad he only had to deal with one, cause he knew well enough that they weren't all as open as Severide seemed to be. He'd been hit on and called a slut by some alphas from other firehouses, been asked why he didnt stay home or become a teacher like the good little lady he was. He didnt let those comments bother him, he had tough skin and could take care of himself, he usually minded his own business without giving them the satisfaction of answering back of loosing his cool. Nobody ever really tried to defend him, which was okay with him, he didnt want them to. He wasn't weak nor needy. Cruz would give him a look, as if asking if he was alright, and he would nod back. Herrmann would pat his back as he walked by, and that would be enough. They were there, they just let him deal with things himself, and he appreciated it.

Casey made sure to use scent suppressants everyday to make work easier, at the firehouse but also on the field during an intervention. Last thing he wanted was to attrack unwanted attention on himself and cause any distractions, he valued his work too much to jeopardize the whole thing only because of a scent. He wasn't even sure he smelled that much and he definitely didnt ask Severide about it, so he just took the suppressants to be sure. Severide was a buddy, at least as close to a buddy as he could be, considering the whole situation, but Casey definitely wasn't close enough to him to ask such weirdly personal questions. Severide himself didnt smell much, Casey barely noticed it and it never bothered him, even as they worked together and got sometimes pretty close when needed for an intervention. Severide smelled earthy, he smelled good, Casey could only think of a forest after rain or maybe some kind of tree he couldn't really identify, but it wasn't overpowering or too distracting. The guy definitely didnt take suppressants, he was too cocky and proud for that, maybe they just weren't a match at all and that explained why they didnt get each other all bothered ... He didnt know. He didnt care. He wasnt looking to mate with anyone, less with Kelly Severide.

All in all, Casey felt really good about his life. He had a job he loved more than anything, a supporting chief and team to work with and he couldn't see anything coming in between him and happiness. He knew he was blessed, not all omegas had the same luck, but they also didn't all go the extra mile to make sure they got recognition. Casey always did. He showed them that he could pull his own weight, and then worked his way up the ranks. He felt better than ever in his own skin, healthy and confident and ready to take on anything life could throw his way. It was a great feeling, this happy bliss he actually lived in ... and he should've known something would eventually go wrong. The universe is held on a fragile balance between good and bad, when you get too much of a good thing, sooner or later you'll get a taste of the other side ... 


	2. Chapter 2

Things started to go south one early morning. Casey was making his way into the firehouse at the beginning of shift when a rough voice suddenly called his name, making him jump and turn around. He definitely hadn't been expecting this so early in the morning.

"Casey, what the hell !?"

Severide was walking towards him, eyes dark and brow furrowed in annoyance. Casey noticed he stopped himself a few good steps away from him, as if afraid to come too close ... as if Casey had some infectious disease. It was Casey's turn to frown.

"What is this even about ?"

"What the hell are you doing man ??"

Severide wasn't making any sense and Casey was getting more and more annoyed. He tried to think back to the previous day and what he might have done to upset the alpha, but he couldnt think of anything. Suddenly, a thought hit him and his eyes grew slightly bigger at the realisation.

"I didn't have any more suppressants. Ive ordered some, but there's been a delay in the delivery"

"Shouldn't you plan ahead, for stuff like that ?"

"Gosh, I forgot, okay ? Its just this one time, it'll be fine, deal with yourself ... "

Severide scoffed and brushed past him. Casey let him, not trying to say anything else to defend himself. Severide was right, he should've planned better to avoid running out, but a lot of things were on his mind and he tend to forget about all of this. He wasn't one to go into heat very often, if at all, and when things went very well at work he would sometimes even forget he was an omega at all, hence his forgetting to order suppressants sooner. He didn't think it would be that big of a deal to go without them for one day, maybe two or three in the worst case scenario. Severide didn't usually give a shit about him, so he couldn't understand why he was making such a fuss right now. Smelling into his own armpit and as close to his neck as he could get, trying to pick up on the scent that might have upset the alpha, he couldn't even smell anything. Ugh. Shift would suck.

He went about his day as usual, trying to act normal. He could _feel_ Severide staring, the alpha's eyes tracking his every movements at time, then avoiding him like plague at others. It was distracting and Casey had to make twice the efforts to stay focused on whatever it was he was doing, everytime he could feel the other guy's presence in the room. It was an awfully quiet day and they worked on keeping the trucks clean and in order, busying themselves with anything they could. The others didnt - _couldnt_ \- understand what was going on between the two lieutenants, unable to smell Casey any more than usual. If he'd been in heat, they probably wouldve thought he was stinky as hell, but his normal scent wasn't really noticeable to them, and nor was Severide's. They could make guesses, but they really didn't understand how bad the situation could be. To their eyes, it was just Severide being in a mood and Casey trying to act as if nothing was happening, even though he was getting frustrated. At lunch time, he walked up to the counter where food was served and reached it just as Severide was reaching it too. Casey cut right in front of him and grabbed a plate, an affront that didnt go unnoticed. He clearly heard the alpha give a low growl deep in his throat, causing Casey to turn around and give him a dark look. A look that said it all. _Don't you fucking dare growl on me, Kelly Severide._ Apparently the other lieutenant got the message, for he had the decency to just grab a plate, fill it with food and walk away without saying anything. 

No other incident like this happened for a while, Severide was nowhere to be seen and Casey didnt try to find him, even though he easily could have. When he walked in a room that the squad lieutenant had been in, the alpha's scent would linger in the air, on furniture, everywhere. It had never been that strong and it made Casey a little dizzy. He was realising that the suppressants he took probably prevented him from smelling alphas too much as well, and he was starting to miss the damn suppressants a lot. How could he even focus when everything smelled of Severide everywhere he went ? He wasn't the only one cursing this situation, the other lieutenant made sure to remind him how displeased he was with all this when he walked by him at some point, calling very loudly :

"You smell, Casey"

And maybe Casey was an omega, but he was one damn strong omega. He wasn't having this.

"No worse than you, it's like you're trying to stink up the whole firehouse"

Severide stopped walking, his back still to Casey, his shoulders tensed and his hands curled in fists by his sides. Everybody was holding his breath, even though the alpha anger had no real effect over them. The guy still looked piss and that was bad knews. They could feel the tension and knew things could go very wrong very fast. Even Casey could feel it, and as Severide turned slowly to pierce him with his gaze, he felt himself going a little weak in the knees. Cursing under his breath, he looked away and pretended to busy himself with something under the truck, getting to his knees before they had the chance to buckle under him and make him look bad. Weak. Vulnerable. That didnt fool Severide, who stared at him for a few more seconds, turned around and walked away, visibly satisfied with the state he had put Casey in. It was as submissive as he would get from Casey right now, but it was enough. Not that the truck lieutenant had meant to submit or even saw it that way, he still was very much angry at Severide and determined to stand his ground. His body simply acted on its own. He wasn't about to submit to Kelly Severide.

**_Ambulance 61, Truck 81, Squad 3, multiple vehicle accident_ **

They all jumped right to their feet, getting into the routine of getting dressed and jumping into the trucks. In a matter of minutes they were on the scene of the accident. A truck had apparently run into a car, which pushed it right into another car. The truck driver came running to them, claiming that the car came out of nowhere, that it cut in front of him too close and he couldnt brake in time. Casey tried to get him to calm down, calling back to Dawson so she could come take a look at the man's head, for he seemed to be bleeding from somewhere around his hairline. The two lieutenants took a minute to assess the situation before giving directives to their guys. The first car's driver was in pretty bad shape, stuck in his vehicle, the shape of which had been severely damaged by the impact. Casey stepped aside and let Severide command his guys, this was Squad's job to make quick work of the door and get the driver free, after the paramedics had stabilised him and put a cervical collar on him. The other car didn't suffer that much damage and the driver seemed okay, he was sitting by the ambulance and getting a check up. 

The rush of the situation calming down a little, Casey finally got to take a good look at the truck and his eyes grew big. He knew that particular truck, recognised it immediately. It was special delivery. For alphas and omegas. The kind of truck that delivers birth control, heat or scent suppressants and any other stuff people like him could ever need, due to their special nature. This stuff wasn't mixed with normal human beings' stuff because it wasn't manufactured by the same industries and couldn't risk being mistaken with other stuff. Casey stood there for a minute as it occurred to him that the scent suppressants he had ordered probably were in his very truck, which meant the delay would be even greater now ... and as that thought crossed his mind, he realised the beginning of a fire coming from the truck's hood. Shit shit shitshit. He stared a few more seconds, stunned in place, his mind racing. He couldnt think clearly, mortified by the idea of loosing those suppressants and having to wait any more for a next order. It had barely been a day and it was already hell. Turning to his team, he barked orders for them to bring equipment to put that fire out. As they were running towards him, he heard a loud roar of "NO, BACK THE HELL UP" and felt strong hands grab him by the arm and pull him away so hard he stumbled and almost fell face first, only stopped by Severide holding him upward and pulling even harder, breaking into a sprint. They got away just in time, the truck blowing up in a deafening noise, the force of it throwing them to the ground. 

Casey sat there on the ground, watching it all go up in flames, cursing life, cursing his own nature, cursing everything under his breath, while the rest of the team finally put the fire out. He felt numb as he finally stood, walking back to the truck and getting in without a word. He could feel Severide's stare on his back but couldn't bring himself to care. 

He had barely gotten out of the truck, back at the firehouse, when strong hands grabbed him by the neck and forced him against the truck. He banged his head on it, wincing at the pain and staying there a moment, too dizzy to move or try to fight back against the hands holding him there. Only by the scent, he knew who it was. That scent of delicious forest and soil and earth ... Wait, delicious? He groaned as he was pulled back from the truck, only to be slammed against it again. 

"What were you thinking !?"

He tried to find his balance, grabbing Severide's arms and trying to push them away from him, but to no avail. The alpha wouldnt budge. Deep down Casey knew why Severide was angry. He'd been careless, hadn't noticed the smell of gas, had put his crew in danger. It was a bad call and it could've ended badly for all of them, had it not been for Severide interfering. He knew, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. When he said nothing, Severide slammed him against the truck once more, this time igniting fight in Casey. He tried to jerk out of the man's grasp, only to have Severide growl and grab him suddenly by the neck, hard enough to bruise, forcing him down to his knees. The growling was low and menacing and it did all kinds of funny things to Casey. He logically knew he ought to be scared, and part of him was ... but that deep growl also created fire somewhere deep down in his belly. He hated it. He was being bullied into submission and his fucking body had other thoughts on that, the bitch.

"You were careless and you put lives in danger. You do realise that, right, Casey ? If you can't function without suppressants, don't bother coming at work and risking all our lives. Stay the fuck home and wait it out"

He wasn't calling Casey a bitch or anything of the sort, but it still stung the same. He was implying that Casey couldn't properly work because of his omega nature and that was a low blow.

"Fuck you" he spat back, looking up to Severide's face, even as he was on his knees in front of him. 

Severide gripped him tighter by the neck, it was hurting now and Casey whimpered as he tried to kick and punch and get him to let go. He got a good hit, heard Severide groan and smelled blood more than he saw it, for he was knocked back on the truck the next instant. Nobody in the crew felt brave enough to interfere in what looked like alpha punishment. They knew better than to confront Severide when he was in such a state, more instincts that human, more alpha than man. Still, it hurt to see Casey in such a state, his neck starting to bruise already from the death grip Severide had had on the back of it, his head spinning from hitting it too many times on the truck. He was sprawled at Severide's feet, the man looking down on him. 

"Get up" 

It was an order. Casey wanted to spit on the man's shoes, tell him to go to hell ... But he slowly got to his knees nonetheless, biting back any reply that could get him more trouble. When he did or said nothing more, Severide grabbed him by the hair. 

"Im waiting"

" ... Sorry ... " His voice was small, ashamed. He wanted to fight it. He couldn't. The suppressants really did wonders in helping him stand up to Severide, but without them, after a long day of being bullied by that scent, by those looks, he was tired and helpess. "I know I messed up ... Im sorry"

The hand on his hair softened, the death grip became a caress, massaging the back of his neck slowly. "Good ... " Casey looked up at that, seeing that Severide finally seemed a little more relaxed, a little less prompt to kick his ass. The truck lieutenant didn't move, wasn't sure if he was allowed back to his feet, and that only thought made him want to gag.

He stayed there on his knees a while, even after Severide had walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, yeah, expect some angst there too.  
> Also, I absolutely can't write fire or accident scenes, I feel like I lack vocabulary for those, english isn't my first language. Anyway, it's bad, but bear with me.


	3. Chapter 3

The next order of suppressants was supposed to come in by the end of next week. Casey couldn't bare the idea of going so long without them, seeing how hellish it got in only a day. On the other hand, missing work just for that sounded just as bad, if not worse. It would give everyone, and especially Severide, reasons to believe he wasn't up to the task and maybe didn't even deserve his rank. It would make them think of him as a weak omega. He absolutely didn't want that. He only had to keep his instincts in check and make sure not to upset Severide, to avoid another humiliation. As he gulped down the rest of his coffee and went to his bathroom to brush his teeth before shift, he found he was slower than usual in his morning routine, almost reluctant to go. Sighing as he gave himself a last look in the mirror, he grabbed his bag and his car keys and made his way out of his apartment, locking the door behind him. The ride to the firehouse seemed quicker than usual and in no time, he was walking inside, a sense of dread creeping up his spine. Casey hated himself for feeling that way. Severide had never scared him before and there was no reason why it should start now. He was strong, he could fight him if needed, and chief certainly wouldn't let it go that far ... would he ?

Severide was nowhere to be seen and his scent very faint, good news to Casey. He went straight for his locker to put his stuff, took a minute to stretch his back which was so tensed since the previous day, then made his way to the common area. Otis was about to steal the last of the bacon when Casey playfully called him out on it, making him yelp in surprise and drop the bacon slices back on the plate. It made everyone in the room laugh, effectively defusing the tension in the air, which was exactly what the truck lieutenant wanted. Things needed to go back to normal. Grabbing himself a serving of eggs and bacon, he sat with Dawson and Herrmann and they chat for a while, until Casey looked up, frowning. He could smell him before he actually heard him. Severide. 

The man's voice raised above the chatting in the room, making everyone go silent, listening in. Eavesdropping, even. The squad lieutenant was outside the room but still he could be heard arguing with what sounded like Shay. They couldn't hear everything clearly, but could make out some of it.

"No no, don't try and use that alpha glare on me Kelly, you went too far and you know it"

"He had it coming Shay, he was-- "

"Shut up Kel, hear me out. He didn't deserve that. He made a mistake. You make mistakes too, and I dont see him knocking you down for them. You better get your alpha shit together, cause your atittude sucks. Now you'll go in and apologise and things can go back to normal"

"I can't do that Shay, come on, what am I gonna look like if I--"

"I don't care, Kel. They already think you're an asshole for what you did, you can't make worse of an impression"

"Shay, come on .. SHAY !! "

But Shay was having none of it and stepped into the room, greeting people and going to sit with them as if everything were alright. A little smile played on her face, showing them all that she knew they were listening and was actually quite happy about it. Chatting picked up again as everyone tried to pretend they weren't eavesdropping, in case the squad lieutenant decided to come in, which he did a minute later. Casey couldn't tear his eyes away from him, especially as Severide walked straight up to him. He stopped a few steps away, turned around, walked back a few steps ... then turned again to face him and step closer.

"M'sorry" he muttered, avoiding Casey's eyes. Shay cleared her throat loudly, making Severide grunt. One of his hands reached for his neck in what looked like embarassment. Trying to steel his nerves, he took a deep breath and immediately regretted it, the omega's scent filling his nose and distracting him. "Im sorry, Casey. I went too far"

The truck lieutenant stared at him for a moment, then let out a sigh and stood up to face the man. Extending his hand to Severide, they shook hands and just like that, it was forgiven. Casey wasn't too happy about what had happened, but deep down he knew that the situation was out of their control. Severide had never hurt him before and it had to be the instincts and the scents messing everything up. They both had to get it together and deal with this as best as they could. 

Severide came looking for him while he was standing alone in the bathroom washing his hands. Casey couldn't help the tension in his shoulders as the man came closer, eyeing him with an unreadable look on his face. Casey almost expected more bullying, but as Severide reached for his neck, his fingers were soft, his touch feather-like. Casey looked over to the mirror, seeing his reflection and the dark purple bruises left on the back of his neck where Severide had held him the previous day. The squad lieutenant's face looked almost pained as he brushed his fingers over the bruises, biting his lip. 

"Does it hurt ... ? "

"Not really. Only if I move my head around too much"

"You know I didn't mean to, right ? "

"I know, Sev ... I know"

Casey hadn't noticed his pulse quickening under the alpha's touch, hadn't realised he was almost panting by now and Severide wasn't letting go. The alpha noticed it before he did, pulling back softly but fast, taking a step away. 

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay" and he was storming out of the bathroom as suddenly as he had come in, leaving Casey a little bewildered and definitely out of breath. 

Things started to get weird for Casey. Severide kept his distance and respected his space, Casey did the same and they weren't exactly avoiding each other but didn't try to push their luck too much. A nod from afar was good enough. They each minded their business and everything worked out great ... except Casey couldn't help but glance at Severide every now and then, when he felt sure the man wasn't looking. He would notice how the lieutenant had very fine looking biceps, when he was working on the truck. He would occasionally catch a glimpse of naked skin when Severide stretched and his shirt moved up a little. He made absolutely sure not to get distracted during a call they had to answer to, but once the fire was out and the family was out of harm's way, he couldn't help but notice how hot the alpha looked, his face all dirty and sweaty after he'd been inside the burning house. He kept noticing things he had never noticed before and it frustrated him. That was the lack of suppressants talking, he was sure of it. And then there was that forest scent ... 

It was a huge relief to go back to his apartment after shift, away from Severide and the distracting silver in his dark hair. It took a moment to clear his head from every thought about the man, but cooking dinner kept him busy and focused his mind on something else. He got himself a beer and ate in front of the tv, anything to keep himself occupied. He had had a rough day and things without suppressants weren't looking too good. It was getting harder and harder to stay focus with Severide around and he felt himself react to the alpha's presence despite all efforts. It was one thing to be strong-willed, but Casey couldn't fight biology forever and he knew that very well. Great, now he was back to thinking about that. He grunted and pressed both his hands to his face, sinking back into the couch with annoyance. His phone suddenly ringing on the coffee table made him jump and he groaned at himself for being so skittish lately. Taking the phone in hand, he answered the call without even looking at the caller ID, closing his eyes when he recognised the voice.

"Hey Casey"

"Hey Sev ... "

"You uh ... You busy ?" His voice was hesitant, nothing like his usual cheeky and playful self. Casey's brow furrowed as he wondered if Severide had even thought about calling him before he actually realised he had. He did sound like he had nothing to talk about, after all.

"Just watching TV. You ?"

"Same ... "

A silence stretched between the two, a very awkward silence that neither dared break for a moment. Severide finally spoke again, not helping Casey's already growing confusion.

"How's your neck ?" 

"Still fine, no worse than this afternoon" 

"Okay, good. Well um ... I guess I won't bother you any longer. See ya, Casey"

And he hung up, leaving Casey all the more exhausted. Now the alpha was even invading his space when they weren't on shift, that was just great. Dropping the phone on the couch and standing up, he made his way to the bathroom for a long, hot and well deserved shower. He got undressed and got under the water, relishing the feel of it on his face first, then turning around to let it get on his tensed back. He let his hands roam over his own body, from his pecs down to his thighs, caressing the hot skin and throwing his head back gently. He thought about how Severide would growl with disapproval at seeing this, and it was enough to get him hard. Throwing rationality out the window, he took himself in hand and gave in to the need.

He came with Kelly's name on his lips.


	4. Chapter 4

Casey didn't have shift today and he planned on sleeping in. He'd spend a few hours tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep and too hot under the sheets, until exhaustion took over. He was abruptly woken up by his phone ringing on the nightstand and the ringing stopped before he could even come to his senses. He groaned and let himself fall face first onto his pillow, only to have the damned phone ring again. This time he blindly groped for the phone and muttered a sleepy "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you Casey ?? Its Polar Plunge in twenty minutes, you said you'd be there"

Severide sounded pissed but Casey didn't even register that, scrambling out of bed as fast as he could and almost tripping on a shirt he had left lying around on the floor. He knew the other lieutenant had probably heard it in his voice, that he'd been asleep minutes ago, but he couldn't bring himself to care, too much in a hurry.

"Shit, I forgot, I'll be there as fast as I can"

"You better be" That sounded threatening. Asshole. 

Casey hung up before Severide could say anything else and quickly made his way to the kitchen to make some coffee. They were going to go in the water, so he figured he didn't need a shower. Running back to his bedroom to get dressed before the coffee was ready, he came back just in time to put said coffee into a thermos mug, grab a muffin and hurriedly leave the apartment. He hated himself for forgetting that charity event they had all signed up for, it wasn't like him to be that forgetful but again, these weren't normal times. He wasn't exactly ready to go freeze his balls off in some ice cold water so soon after waking up, but a promise is a promise and he felt like Severide would never let him live it down if he failed to show up or do the plunge. 

He gulped down his coffee on the way and made short work of his muffin, getting there in time to join the rest of the crew on the beach. The cold morning air made him shiver, but it was very effective in clearing his head and his nose of any scent that might have been distracting. Severide was already shirtless, whilst everyone else chose to wear a shirt. Their eyes met and Casey felt a different kind of shiver down his spine. He stared back, glaring contest that he was determined not to lose ... but lost anyway, eventually looking down, his jaw shut tight, stupid omega nature. Because he wouldn't be any less than Severide, he took his shirt off. Only a few minutes later, it was their time and the girls started to scream as they all broke into a run into the water. It was freezing cold and Casey could feel it biting at his skin, spreading goosebumps on his body. They were out of their minds for doing that, but they were also having fun and Casey relaxed as they started to splash around, the girls screaming as they got wetter than they wanted to and the men laughing and splashing them on purpose. Many of them didn't last very long, but Casey was holding on and so was Severide. His toes were starting to go numb and that definitely wasn't a very good sign, so he kept moving them in hope of chasing the cold away. He felt more cold water suddenly hit his bare skin and glanced towards Severide, who was laughing, a playful look in his eyes, taunting him. Casey pretended he wasn't playing that game and made to get out of the water, only to turn back around and push Severide back in the water. The man couldn't keep his balance and fell back, holding his breath just in time. When he regained his footing, he was laughing, much to Casey's relief. 

It really was freezing now, Casey's teeth had started chattering. They both started to make their way back to the beach when Casey suddenly felt strong hands grab him by the shoulders and pull him back so roughly that he fell back into the water. He felt himself being dragged further away, his hands grasping at the sand until he couldn't feel the ground anymore and his arms were only flailing in deeper water, trying to break surface. He soon found out he couldn't, a hand pushing on his head and forcing him under. Panic was starting to rise and he felt his chest tighten. He tried to kick his legs or even grab at the hand pushing him down, but his lungs were starting to burn and when he finally hit the man holding him, the man hit back. It instantly squeezed the last of his breath out of his lungs and made him gasp, cold salty water rushing into his mouth and nose. The world started to go black around the edges. How long had it been ? A minute ? Maybe more, maybe less ? He couldn't tell ... He couldn't tell anything anymore ...

Suddenly, the hands released him. Deep down he knew he ought to try and break surface again, but his body felt heavy and he couldn't fight against the cold setting deep in his bones. He barely felt the new pair of hands grabbing him and pulling him out of the water, his limp body being carried out and onto the beach. He was laid on his back and rough fingers quickly tilted his head and chin backwards. When he didn't react after being shaken a few times by the shoulders, he was given five rescue breaths and his eyes suddenly flew open as he started to cough water. He was given a moment to cough all the water out of his airway, then he was pulled upwards by strong hands and his face was gently nestled in the crook of a neck that smelled of pine tree and soil and rain, and he held on tight. 

Severide kept insisting on driving him back to his own place, muttering under his breath that a near-drowning victim shouldn't be left on his own. His scent kept fluctuating between the soothing forest and a sharp bitter scent Casey could only identify as anger. Casey hadn't tried to argue as Dawson had given him a check up and put a blanket around him. She then went to talk with Severide for a moment and Casey couldn't make out what they were saying. The truck lieutenant thought the ambulance arriving on scene was for him, but apparently not. Severide didn't even give him time to see what was going on and who needed medical help, he was being dragged to Severide's car, clutching his blanket with cold fingers. No point in arguing that he was fine and didnt even stay under water that long, Severide was in a mood and Casey knew he couldn't make him change his mind. Even he knew best than to upset the man any further and he kept quiet the whole ride back to Severide's apartment. Apparently he couldn't walk by himself anymore, the man barely letting him get to his feet before he took him off them and carried him inside like a poor helpess omega. Casey's senses where slowly coming back to him fully and he didn't like this one bit. He was glad the man had saved him from drowning, but he didn't need him to keep acting as his savior and he could've gone back to his own apartment by himself. 

He was sat on the floor near a couch that smelled too much like Severide for his liking, and yet it also smelled just right. Casey refrained from burying his face against it. Severide started pacing and muttering under his breath, sending waves of bitterness to Casey who groaned and threw a cushion at him. "You smell" 

The alpha stopped his pacing and turned to glare at him with a warning growl that sent yet again that shiver down Casey's spine, a mix of fear and arousal. He logically understood the scent itself was a warning that Severide was in a very bad mood and prompt to fight back, but they weren't mates, they weren't that kind of thing and the truck lieutenant wasn't about to start submitting and changing their dynamic for a little mood swing. Severide smelled angry and it wasn't pleasant and he would tell him again.

"Im cold ... "

Wait, what ? He hadn't really meant to say that. Sure, he was freezing to the bone, still in his wet clothes on the floor, the blanket barely helping, but he wasn't needy and he didn't want _Severide_ to think he was. Still, omegas instincts had prevailed, trying to calm down the angry alpha by telling him exactly what would snap him out of anger and right into protective mode. Severide's scent softened as realisation dawned on him.

"Of course, shit, sorry Casey" he said as he walked to him, helping him to his feet and trying to get rid of his wet clothes. Casey felt a blush creep up his neck and to his cheeks, feeling more and more naked under the man's eye, even though nothing in the situation was meant to be sexual. He was soon down to his underwear, the blanket being used my Severide to dry his cold damp skin, then Severide took off his own shirt and Casey felt himself being engulfed in a tight hug and forced to sit on Severide's lap on the couch. He groaned, as close to a growl as he could emit, earning a growl back from Severide, and it was like they were both fighting it and giving in to it at the same time. They finally settled down after a few minutes of shifting around in a forced hug meant to warm Casey up by sharing body heat. Casey allowed his head to rest on the man's shoulder and they shared a calm, confortable silence as he felt his numb skin grow warmer. 

"What do I smell like ?" he suddenly blurted out, wincing as soon as he heard the words coming out of his mouth. _Idiot._

Severide took a minute to answer, making Casey feel like his question was very inappropriate, which it probably was. The squad lieutenant finally made these worries go away by answering in a very soft voice, almost a murmur. "Sweet. Like a warm cup of cocoa in winter, a hint of vanilla ... "

He didn't elaborate further and Casey didn't say anything else. They both fell back into the confortable silence, but this time, a small smile was on Casey's lips.

"Did you kill him ? The alpha who tried to drown me?"

They were sitting on Severide's couch, eating pizza the alpha had ordered while Casey was in the shower. He felt a lot better now, his body temperature back to normal and his head a little clearer. Severide scoffed with an eye roll that made Casey laugh.

"What ? Its a legitimate question"

"No, Casey, I didn't kill him. I just messed him up ... just a tiny bit" Severide answered back with that characteristic playful smile that was so him Casey couldn't help but smile too.

"Enough for an ambulance to be called"

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Casey"

Casey laughed again and shook his head, taking another bite of his pizza. This was all new to him, being in such close proximity with an alpha ... with Severide. They'd shared pizza before and laughed together before, but always at a party with the crew or some sort of event. Never like this, never only the two of them in Severide's apartment. It didn't feel wrong, but it certainly was disconcerting. Severide didn't seem so bothered by it, of course he wouldn't show it, stupid cocky alpha, but Casey knew it was hard on him. The man sometimes stepped outside pretending it was a little hot inside and he just wanted to cool down, but Casey knew he was just using that as an excuse to get away from his scent a bit. Severide had also taken three showers since they'd been back from the plunge and seriously, who takes three showers in half a day ? Casey _absolutely refused_ to think about the reasons why the alpha might be doing that.

"What's up with alphas ? Why would anyone suddenly feel the urge to drown a stranger for no reason ?"

Severide looked up and shrugged at the confused look on Casey's face. 

"Why would a human feel the urge to kidnap a stranger and brutally murder him or her ? Crazy people are everywhere, not only among alphas"

"Not wrong. You guys _are_ super cranky, though" he mused with a smile, earning a playful growl from Severide.

"Don't disrespect me, omega" 

"Fuck you, Sev"

They shared a laugh and Casey ate the rest of his pizza slice before leaning back against the cushions, closing his eyes with a smile. Severide immediately took that for a sign that he was tired and got up, cleaning up the last of the pizza and the beer cans on the coffee table. Before Casey could even ask him what he was doing, Severide picked him up and dropped him on his bed. The scent here was very strong and Casey's pupils were blown as he looked up to the alpha. 

"What are you doing?"

"You're tired, you need sleep. I'll take the couch" Severide said and his tone told Casey he'd better not argue.

He watched as Severide left the room and closed the door behind him. Casey was then left in the dark, in a bed that smelled so strong he wondered how he'd even fall asleep. His head on the pillow, he soon found he was wrong. The hints of arousal induced by the scent were quickly overpowered by a nice drowsiness and he was soon lulled to a deep slumber.

When he woke up, the apartment was awfully quiet and the sun pierced through the curtains, bathing the bedroom in a nice warm glow. He felt like he'd been sleeping for a week, coming back from a sleep so deep he was momentarily confused as to where he was and how he'd gotten here. He sat in bed and rubbed his eyes to chase the sleep from them, slowly coming back to his senses. Severide. His bed, his room, his scent everywhere on him. He stood up and made his way to the living room, finding it empty. It was hard to tell where Severide was, at the firehouse Casey was used to locating him by scent, but in this apartment, everything smelled of Severide. A quick look around and a call of the man's name gave him no answer, and Casey then realised he was all alone. His heart suddenly beating fast, he looked around for his phone, found it on the coffee table and a quick look at the time made him curse. 2 pm. He was heeeella late.

A little note was left beside his phone and he frowned as he took it, recognising Severide's messy scribble. 

_**You were sleeping like a baby, I didn't wake you up. Near-drowning experience is a good enough reason to miss work. Chief said its alright. See ya tonight** _

Casey groaned and dropped the note back on the table. He'd rather have gone to work and show them he could pull his weight, but maybe Severide was right and he deserved a break. Surely people couldn't hold a grudge against him for missing work after he'd almost drowned ... and it gave him a break from Severide too, which wasn't so bad. He needed the suppressants as soon as possible so things could go back to normal.

Resisting the urge to sneak off like a thief, he opted for a nice home workout to get his blood pumping and chase the weariness away. He gave it everything he had, consecutively going for push-ups, mountain climbers, planks, burpees and other various exercices. He worked out until he was nice and sweaty, finally stopping to catch his breath. After a much needed shower, he took the liberty of searching through the fridge for something to eat and ended up sitting on Severide's couch, watching TV and shovelling scrambled eggs into his mouth. He allowed himself two episodes of a show on Netflix before he realised Severide would probably be coming home soon and he ought to do something to thank him for his time and his care. 

When the alpha came into the apartment, Casey heard his deep growl from the kitchen. He peeked out from the kitchen, a frown on his face, but didn't get to ask what was wrong as Severide made it clear right away.

"What the fuck Casey, have you been pissing all over my apartment ?"

"That strong, uh ? I did work out a bit ... "

"You idiot ... " Severide seemed more annoyed than angry, trying to breathe through his mouth as he walked to the kitchen to stand near him. His expression cleared as soon as he saw what Casey was cooking. He even dared come rest his chin on Casey's shoulder, one of his hands resting on Casey's lower back and the omega's breath caught in his throat. He cleared said throat and rolled his shoulders, trying to shrug Severide off him.

"Back off, dinner's not ready yet, go sit your ass at the table"

"Yes Sir"

Casey soon walked to the table with a plate in his hands, setting it down in front of the man. It looked delicious and Severide was salivating just by looking at it.

"Rib Eye, medium-rare, with roasted potatoes. I wanted to say thank you for what you did for me, for saving my life and you know ... everything else" Casey offered with a smile, Severide looking up to meet his eye and smile back. The alpha then realised there was only one plate and frowned. "You're not eating ?"

"I gotta get back to my place, I don't wanna overstay my welcome and there are things I have to do before tomorrow's shift"

"You don't have your car, I can drive you"

"Its fine, I asked the boys, Cruz and Otis dropped it off here earlier"

"Oh" He sounded vaguely disappointed but Casey decided to ignore

He gathered his stuff around the place as Severide took his first bite of steak, the purely pornographic moan he gave at the taste making Casey hot. 

"That's fucking good man" he moaned around another bite, making the truck lieutenant laugh. 

He stood there near the door as Severide stood up to come and see him out. The alpha got pretty close, closer than he usually did, frowning as he gently took hold of Casey's wrist. 

"Do you take heat suppressants ?"

The question was coming out of the blue and Casey was a little taken aback. 

"No. I don't get heats"

Severide's frown deepened and he released Casey's wrist, taking a step back with a muttered "Alright ..."

That was weird. Casey didn't hang around to find out what he hell that was all about, instead he walked out the door with a last goodbye.


	5. Chapter 5

When Casey woke up the next morning, he felt like his whole body was on fire. His skin was cold and clammy, his sheets were damp from where he had been sweating in them and he felt like he was burning up. He stood up carefully, wincing at the momentary dizziness that overtook him. Great, now he had caught himself the flu, thanks to those ice cold waters he had nearly drowned in. Just his luck. He walked slowly to his bathroom, turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water over his face. It procured him a short relief, but a headache was slowly setting in and Casey knew he would be having a bad day. He felt like he had a lot of those recently. Searching through the medicine cabinet, he found some aspirin and he swallowed two of them up with some water he drank straight from the faucet. Turning the faucet off, he then got rid of his underwear and stepped in the shower, turning the water on as cold as it would get. He stood unmoving under the spray for a while, seriously looking like a beaten dog.

It took him almost fifteen minutes to snap out of it and finish showering, cleaning away the sweat that had dried on his skin. He then got out of the shower and put on a clean pair of boxers. The idea of having any form of breakfast, even a simple cup of coffee, made his stomach churn. He opted for a glass of water and proceeded to get dressed. His head didn't start to clear until he got ouside and locked his apartment, standing next to his car for a minute to fully appreciate how good the fresh air felt on his face. He drove to the firehouse and took a few deep breaths before exiting his car and walking in the place. He forced a smile as he was greeted by Herrmann, made sure to look as normal as possible as he greeted everyone he met on his way to his locker. Maybe it was a bad idea to come to work and risk contaminating them all, but he couldn't afford to stay home two days in a row, he was truck lieutenant and he just had to be there. Convinced that he would feel better once he got into it and started working, he skipped breakfast with the crew and went to work on cleaning the truck. There was a pounding in his head but he kept on scrubbing as hard as he could, trying to get lost in the work and forget about everything else. He knew Severide would come kick his ass as soon as he would notice he was sick and at work and he dreaded that moment more than anything, but maybe if he worked good enough, the alpha wouldn't even notice a thing and it would be fine.

Except it wasn't fine.

Scrubbing that hard wasn't helping his case at all, it was making it worse. About an hour after he had started, he got dizzy again and had to lean on the truck to keep his balance, closing his eyes and waiting for it to pass. He knew he should eat something but the mere idea made him feel sick. His fever had spiked again, he was sure of it. He was feeling way too hot in his light gray polo, now a darker shade of gray from all the sweating. Cause yeah, he was sweating a damn lot. He wiped his brow and tried to get back to work, only to suddenly go pale and start seeing black spots dance before his eyes. He felt like all of it was happening in slow motion, the noises fading away, his body swaying a little before the world went to black. 

He woke up on a bed, a wet towel on his forehead and a worried scent of burning wood in his nose. He felt like his head might explode at any moment and the white hot pain pulsating in his temples made him utter a small whine. Severide was by his side the next instant, crouching next to the bed so his face was leveled with Casey's. 

"Hey hey hey, don't try to move, take it easy ... " he murmured, gently brushing his fingers against Casey's arm, trying to soothe him.

"What happened ... ?" Casey croaked out, a little out of it.

"You fainted"

"Its the flu ... " 

"The flu ?" Severide asked, disbelief in his voice.

"From the polar plunge ... " 

"You're trying to make me believe you caugh the flu ? Casey, you're never sick"

"I have a fever, I feel dizzy, my body's achy and I can't stomach anything since this morning ... " He regretted saying that as soon as he saw Severide's eyes grow big and worried. More of that burning wood scent, washing over Casey like a tidal wave, oddly conforting. As a firefighter, Casey had always thought that the smell of things burning was sort of bittersweet, and now that it came from Severide, it definitely was more sweet than it was bitter to him.

"Are you going into heat ?" 

"For fuck's sake Sev, I told you I don't do heats, alright ? The last one was years ago. Also, that's like asking a woman if she's on her period, you just _**don't** _" Casey spat back and took the towel off his face, trying to sit up slowly as to not go dizzy again, Severide's hands on his back gently helping him up. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Severide chuckled at that reply and gently, playfully pressed Casey's shoulder. "Someone's in a mood ... " and the chuckle became a full on laugh when Casey punched his shoulder. The truck lieutenant _was_ in a mood, the headache cetainly didn't help with that, but Severide's scent was back to the now familiar forest after rain, and he liked that much better.

The alpha didn't try to stop him as he stood up, he even gave him a hand. Casey felt fine and he didn't think he needed those hands holding him steady and making sure he wouldn't lose his balance of faint again, but what was the point of fighting it ? He stood there until Severide seemed confident enough that Casey wouldn't suddenly collapse and he finally let go. Casey wasn't fooling himself, he knew it was only a matter of time before the alpha would get his hands on him again, and as he started to walk towards the door, he was prooved right. Severide's hand had found its place on his lower back, barely touching but still making sure it was there to support him, catch him if needed. It made Casey feel all kinds of things, a mix of good and bad, of wanting to rebel against that hand and tell him he didn't help, and wanting to lean back into the touch. Severide was messing with his head and he didn't like that one bit.

He realise that hand on his back had a hidden purpose, which was to steer him towards the common room and have him sit on the couch. 

"Sit. Stay"

Casey rolled his eyes at the dog talk but Severide was already walking away with a chuckle. The alpha searched in the fridge for a moment until he found what he was looking for and he got to cooking. Casey tried to protest that he wasn't hungry, but a glare from the man shut him up before he had even said a word. Soon, the smell of cooking bacon filled the room and the omega felt his stomach growl at that, as if suddenly aware that it was indeed hungry. When Severide came back towards him with a bacon grilled cheese, Casey gobbled it up like a starving man while the alpha's fingers massaged his nape. He definitely felt better now, felt like going back to work.

"Thanks, man"

"Yeah"

Casey went a little easy on the scrubbing from now on. He was quite glad that there weren't any alarms, because he didnt think he would've been able to go fight a fire in such a state. Just as he thought he would actually be able to make it through his day without any major problem, everything went to hell. Severide was making his crew do training drills in front of the firehouse and he was using this occasion to spend his pent-up energy by doing it with them. The squat lieutenant was restless since Casey had run out of suppressants and when they weren't answering a call, he could be either found pacing around, or pushing his crew to the limit and joining them in the physical effort, just to keep his mind off things. Casey knew that very well, he'd started noticing everything about the man. It was a very bad thing, considering the situation, because when Severide got too hot and decided to take his shirt off, Casey's eyes were glued to the movement and his poor body lost it.

He gasped in shock at the sudden rush of wetness down his pants and whimpered as Severide's eyes immediately locked with his from accros the firehouse. Even from afar, Casey knew how hungry and predatory those eyes were, how fucked he was right now, and he slowly started to back away, until he was almost out of sight and then broke into a run. All his instincts were telling him to flee, his pulse racing and his head spinning in his distress to escape. He closed all the doors behind him on his way, until he reached the showers and got into one, turning on the cold water over himself and curling down in a ball on the floor under the spray. His breathing was erractic, one of his hands curled around his neck as if to tuck his head in to protect himself from any threat that could come up to him. Eyes closed, he waited for it all to pass.

The scent.

The scent suddenly got everywhere and Severide's eyes snapped upwards, instinctively going from the ground to Casey. He'd suspected it the previous day, some peculiar hint of sweetness in the scent that wasn't really there before, was pretty sure this morning with the whole fainting thing, but now he was absolutely convinced. He couldn't help the deep rumble building in his chest as he stared at the man, his pupils blown so wide only a very small ring of blue remained. He needed. He wanted. He _lusted_ for that scent.

But the oh so delicious sweetness of it quickly turned sour as Casey panicked. Severide saw him back away until he was out of sight, waiting that exact instant to drop everything he was doing and go after him. He realised that chasing after Casey was probably making his panic worse, like a prey being followed by the predator and not realising said predator meant no harm. It was the law of nature, fight or flee, and omegas where well known for running in front of danger. It was in their nature, and even strong men like Casey couldn't fight it all the time. Still, Severide had to catch him before he did something stupid like leave the firehouse and attract unwanted attention while he was in such a vulnerable state. 

"Casey !!"

The man never turned around, closed a door right in his face and Severide found it locked when he tried to open it. The omega was in the showers. Leaning against the door, panting, the alpha tried to talk to him through the door and reason with him. He knew it would probably be pointless, but he at least had to try.

"Casey, open up ... I can help you" 

There was no answer and Severide groaned at his own stupid choice of words.

"I don't mean help you _that_ way, I mean ... I ... You can't stay here Casey, the scent is probably strong enough to attract other alphas around, it's not safe"

Still no answer, except a small, faint whimper that he interpreted as fear. Casey had had bad luck with alphas these past days, and being in heat now would only make that worse, they both knew it. He couldn't let that happen.

"Open the door, Casey ... " 

The alpha gave him a minute to maybe ponder the situation and open the door, but when that never happened, he realised he had to do something, whether Casey would like it or not. He had the possibility to go back and get some tools, but he didn't have the patience nor the time for that, and he simply threw his whole weight against the door. It didn't budge at first, but we're talking about an alpha going after an omega in heat, there wasn't much that could stop him right now. He shoved and banged on the door until he finally kicked it down and could make his way into the room. He got himself a wave of panicked scent as Casey realised he was now more vulnerable than ever, but Severide approached very carefully, hands held in front of him in a non-menacing way, his voice soft and calm when he talked to him.

"Hey ... Hey, its okay, its alright, its me ... " 

Casey looked up at him from under the shower, his wet hair a mess and making him look absolutely adorable. He was shaking and Severide wanted nothing more than to hold him and make the fear go away. Hold him until the omega felt safe, until he stopped shaking and whimpering and let himself be taken care of, be protected. He needed to make sure Casey would be okay. He needed to smell that sweet vanilla and hot cocoa again.

"I won't hurt you ... I just wanna help ... "

He inched closer and closer, stopping in his tracks when Casey recoiled and waiting until the omega relaxed a little to try and get closer again. Soon he was kneeling in front of the man, under the shower spraw, trying to soothe him without actually touching him. He kept murmuring that it would be okay, even though he had no idea whether it would or not. He didn't know anything, wasn't sure what the future had in store for the poor omega. He couldn't promise it would be fine, and still he did, he couldn't help it. 

Casey finally let himself being engulfed in a tight hug and Severide held him like there was no tomorrow, petting his hair and letting the omega bury his face in the crook of his neck, right where the scent was strongest, soothing him. It felt good, it felt right ...

"Kelly ... "

"I've got you, Matt"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter guys !! ♥  
> This is my little gift to you :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I start, I wanna thank you guys so much for all your nice comments ! I really enjoy reading them and while I don't respond to all of them because there's quite a lot and I would end up repeating myself all the time, I really appreciate it and I thank each and every one of you ❤

Severide took charge right away and Casey, in his weak, desoriented, scared and, well ... _turned on_ state, was more than happy to let him handle things and follow his lead. He usually was one to love being on top of things, always sharp and focused and in control, but right now it felt like too much effort. Anyways, Severide was doing a marvelous job with his delicious forest scent and his sexy commanding voice and his strong arms holding him and Casey kinda really wanted to lick that jawline and _yeeeep, he was going crazy._

Severide had wrapped him up in many blankets, honestly way too many for his hot and sweaty body, but Casey didn't complain one bit because it made him feel safe and perfectly cosy. He was being carried around by the man -like a perfect little princess _gosh his thoughts were all over the place_ \- and could barely register what was going on around him. He knew Severide was trying to cover up most of the scent so he could carry him out of the firehouse and take him back to his place without attracting too much unwanted attention, but he doubted the blankets did the trick. He could almost smell himself, the scent was so strong, and it was unpleasant. 

"How can you even tolerate my scent ? Ugh ... "

Severide practically purred at him and Casey smiled with content, burying his face back in the crook of the man's neck. Of course the alpha wasn't _tolerating_ the scent, he absolutely loved it. 

He soon found himself in Severide's car, whining at the loss of contact and then cursing under his breath for being so needy. He was so torn between reason and instincts and it made Severide laugh. A gentle pat on the head was all he got before the alpha closed the door and got behind the wheel. Casey had no idea how he had arranged things with the chief but he found he didn't care one bit. He snuggled in his blankets and waited in silence, feeling another rush of wetness as Severide reached to squeeze his knee. It was definitely leaking through his pants by now. _Fine, slick all over your car seat, your fault._ Severide didn't say anything but pretended to roll the windows down and Casey chuckled at that. The alpha wouldn't actually do it, way too risky to let the scent out, but Casey knew deep down how hard it might be for him to stay focused and he forced a little "Sorry ... " out through his giggles.

Casey momentarily lost himself in thoughts during the ride to Severide's apartment. He found himself staring at the alpha's face, his eyes a little unfocused and his thoughts going to very inappropriate places. He wondered if that stubble would leave beard-burn on his skin ... on his face if they kissed, on his thighs if-- "You okay there Matt ?" and Casey snapped out of it, blinking rapidly a few times and nodding frantically. Severide gave him a suspicious look and the omega felt the need to nod again, to insist that he was fine. He was, really. The fear was gone and he was enjoying his blankets and the nice scent of his alpha and- 

Wait.

Fuck.

_Lets pretend he didn't just think that._

Severide was carrying him again and Casey was starting to get a taste for it. He was sat down on the couch and Severide went to check if all the windows were closed to make sure the scent wouldn't inadvertently escape and cause them, and mostly Casey, any trouble. When he came back to the living room, Casey was nowhere to be seen.

"Matt ?"

When he got no answer, he followed the scent right to his bedroom, where the omega had emptied one of his t-shirt drawers on the bed and was snuggled in the pile of them, still clutching his blankets tightly. The scene was absolutely adorable and Severide felt warmth spread in his chest and a smile tug at his lips. "What are you doing, Matt ?" he asked softly, playfully, teasing the omega. "I don't know ... " came the soft and confused answer as Casey looked at him from his little nest. He had no idea what was happening to him, he didn't get enough heats to properly understand the resulting behaviors and instincts. 

A bit sheepishly, Casey got out of the little nest he had made for himself and Severide realised the blonde had changed into one of the alpha's t-shirts. The appreciative and possessive growl that came from his throat was purely instinctive and Casey gasped and threw a pillow at his face.

"Stop doing that"

"I didn't mean to" Severide apologised, biting his lip at the new fresh wave of scent he was getting from Casey. The man looked vaguely annoyed, squirming unconfortably in his pants. "This sucks ... " and Severide knew he probably meant the copious amount of slick his body was now producing. If anything, it made the alpha laugh as the absurdity of the situation hit him. What the hell, really. He never would've thought they would one day end up in this kind of situation.

"Can I borrow sweatpants ?" but the question was purely rethorical as Casey was already fumbling around in Severide's drawers like he owned the place. Alphas were usually very territorial and got protective of what they considered theirs, but Severide found he didn't mind when Casey just took whatever he liked and did whatever he wanted with it. 

Casey finally found a pair he liked and he made his way to the bathroom and change. Muttering curses under his breath, he sat on the toilet with his pants down and wiped up all the excess slick from his ass, trying to dry his underwear as much as he could with a paper towel before putting it back on. It was sticky and unpleasant but there was no point in wearing a clean one for it would also be ruined in no time. He finally got out of the bathroom wearing Severide's sweatpants and he walked back to the living room to find out the squad lieutenant had put puppy training pads on the couch. Casey immediately burst out laughing, flipping the man off when he noticed the satisfied and amused smirk on the alpha's lips. What an idiot. Suddenly, it occured to him that Severide never had a dog so there was no need for him to have that many puppy pads in the first place, and he frowned at the pang of jealousy that hit him. 

"How many omegas have you potty trained before, Sev ?" 

The alpha's smile faded. They were back to surnames and Casey looked upset.

"What ? None, I swear"

"Right ... " and Casey was turning around and walking back to the bedroom, slamming the door behind him and leaving behind a very puzzled alpha.

Casey knew his emotions were all over the place. He had no right to be jealous, Severide had probably had experiences before and that was perfectly fine, the alpha didn't owe him anything. Casey was the one that didn't want to mate or bond with him in the first place, so why was he suddenly getting all worked up over the idea of the alpha with another omega ? He blamed it on the heat. The same heat that was making him too hot and sweaty again as he curled up in a ball in his nest of shirts and blankets that smelled like Severide in a very conforting way. Casey didn't get many heats, but he knew very well how bad it could get and this ... this was only the beginning. He shuddered at the thought that he would soon be begging Severide to fill him up and take him and own him. For now, the need was bearable and Casey took the opportunity to nap before it was too late. When he woke up from his nap, covered in sweat but in a much better mood, it was late afternoon and the apartment was empty. Deciding he needed a shower, he turned the water on and got inside but almost immediately regretted it. There was a very distinct scent in the shower, one that was so strong and so pure that even the water, soap and a little time didn't wash it away. It smelled like Severide, with strong hints of something that made it very clear to Casey what the alpha had been doing compulsively in that shower a few hours prior. The mere idea, combined with that distinctive musk, instantly did wonders to the omega's arousal. The need was now absolutely insane and Casey whimpered as he rest his forehead on the shower wall, grabbing himself in hand and pumping hard and fast. He just needed to get off right now or he felt like his whole body would spontaneously combust. There was nothing elegant about it and he felt a bit ashamed at what he was so unceremoniously doing, feeling like no more than an animal in heat. He came too hard too fast, got dizzy for a minute and had to turn the water cold to regain his senses. Still, that quick release barely scratched the surface of the deep, burning need he felt and without thinking any further about it, he got his hand behind himself and worked two fingers past the tight right of muscles. He stretched himself as good as he could, the position awkward but the motion made easier by all the slick he was producing. It wasn't nearly enough and he whimpered again. His eyes travelled to the shampoo bottle and he very briefly thought about fucking himself with it before he pushed the thought away with a frustrated grunt. "For fuck's sake, get your shit together ... " he scolded himself out loud, turning the water off and getting out of the shower before he could do anything embarassing. 

Casey didn't bother putting on any more clothing than his underwear and decided to stop acting like a jealous idiot as he went to sit on the puppy pad on the couch. It honestly wasn't a bad idea, it would protect the furniture from the major slick problem he was currently having -the arousal was making it even worse than it already was- and he chuckled to himself as he thought of his ass sitting on the pad as if he were only a pup and not a grown man. He heard the door to the apartment open and close and looked up to see Severide walk in, his arms full of supplies he had just bought. The man froze in his tracks as he lay his eyes on the omega, noticing the faint blush of arousal on his face and down his neck, his pupils going full blown as he took Casey's scent in. Time seemed frozen for a minute, until the blonde breathed a needy "Kelly ... " and the alpha nearly dropped everything he was holding. He hurriedly set the supplies down on the coffee table and grabbed the omega by the hair, forcing him up and eliciting a pained groan to which he answered with a hoarse "Sorry". Casey found himself in the man's arms once again and was carried to the bedroom, bumping his head on the doorframe on the way in and biting Severide's shoulder hard enough to bruise until the alpha growled an apology. They had no idea what they were doing, everything felt awkward and they kept making it weird in their haste to fulfill a need they both shared. 

"This isn't right ... " Severide muttered once they were both on the bed. He had taken people to bed before, a fair amount of them in fact, some omegas too and he should know what he was doing, except with Casey it all felt knew and different and he was lost. 

"Because it's me ?"

"No, of course not ... It's just ... I feel like I might do you more harm than good. How's the head ? ... " the alpha said softly, brushing his fingers against Casey's head where he had hit it moments ago. One day, he would give the poor man a concussion if he wasn't more careful.

"It's fine, don't worry. I think we're thinking too much about it"

"Oh, you think ?" The smirk was back on Severide's lips and Casey chuckled. He mustered all his courage and leaned in, barely giving Severide the time to see him coming before their lips met in a soft kiss that soon became passionate. The alpha was kissing back eagerly and grabbing at the blonde's hair once gain, this time just on the right side of painful, making Casey moan into the kiss. They broke apart for breath and Severide took no time to lose his clothes. They didn't need a lot of foreplay to build the heat between them, it had been building for a few days now, and probably even longer than that. The kissing alone was enough to get them going and Casey thought he would pass out from all the pent-up sexual energy. Severide was worshipping his body and it was nearly too much, his mouth leaving wet trails of kisses and bites down his neck and along his collarbone, setting his skin of fire and leaving beard-burn behind. When the man sucked on a sensitive nipple, Casey threw his head back and moaned his name, making the alpha moan in turn. Casey was a delicious sight for sore eyes, sprawled naked on the bed, his skin flushed and his hard cock leaking precum all over the man's stomach. It made Severide want to lap it all up and he didn't hesitate, giving the head of Casey's cock a nice lick and tasting the man on his tongue. His sweet, vanilla hot cocoa omega and his sweet scent and his sweet taste ... He was almost dizzy with arousal, licking at the man's stomach and cock until there was no trace of precum left, until the omega was squirming and moaning under him.

"Kelly ... Please ... "

The alpha growled softly at him and sucked a love bite on the inside of Casey's thigh, making him cry out and break into a whimpering, needy mess. Slick was now pooling on the bed under his ass and some of it was even smeared across his inner thighs. Severide was hungry for a taste of it, licking at the damp skin and humming with satisfaction. It made Casey go absolutely crazy with arousal, on the verge of coming without any actual penetration. 

"I need you inside me ... Please ... " 

Taking mercy on him, Severide rummaged through the nightstand drawer for a condom and swiftly rolled in on. He found his place between Casey's knees and grabbed his hips to angle him better, pushing in with one slow and deep thrust of his hips. He barely got any resistance, the omega's body had been getting ready for this all day long. The blonde moaned his name again as the alpha pulled back almost all the way, only to slam in again. It was purposely sharp and slow, meant to tease until they reached their limit and couldn't hold back any longer. The pace quickened and Severide bent over his body to kiss him, the slight change in angle making Casey feel like the man was going even deeper into him, filling him even more, until there was nothing else but that feel of fullness and that forest scent in his nose. He was close, oh so close, then Severide bit one of his nipples and Casey cried out as he came hard, body arching into Severide's as he rode the wave of pleasure. One, two more thrusts and he could feel Severide coming too with a last roar of pleasure, his cock pulsating inside him as he emptied himself in the condom. 

The heat was everywhere and Casey felt deliciously full. Eyes closed, he relished in the cloudy haze that filled his head, until Severide pulled back. The omega's eyes shot open and he frowned.

"The fuck you doing ?"

"I didn't think you'd want the knot"

the man answered sheepishly, getting rid of the used condom in the trash can next to the bed.

"Really ?? If I wanted a plain, boring dick, I would've asked, I don't know, Borelli ! He's cute enough! " Casey rolled his eyes in annoyance, his ass now feeling emptier than ever. 

"The candidate ?" Severide chuckled disbelievingly and Casey turned his back on him, burying his face in a pillow. The chuckle turned into a laugh and Severide planted a soft kiss on the omega's shoulder. "Sorry. Next time ?" He got a grunt in response, but Casey let him spoon with him and it wasn't perfect, far from it, but in the end ... They would figure it out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while to write, it's been a long time since I wrote anything explicit, I had to get back into it. Hope it turned out okay. Rating for this story also changed from Mature to Explicit, felt like it would be more appropriate  
> Also, this story clearly isn't canon-compliant, I just add any character that I feel like, even if they never appeared at the same time on the show, basically I do what I want and there's smut so who cares ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Casey was being very patient.

When his knot had subsided -the knot that _wasnt_ in Casey, _idiot alpha idiot_ \- Severide had decided that the omega needed to eat something and no matter how hard Casey pleaded for another round, the alpha stood his ground. Although frustrated, the truck lieutenant had conceded this round and let the alpha go. He couldn't even fathom how the man could keep such a clear head and care about the omega's needs in such a situation when the blonde himself couldn't care less. He could starve to death for all he cared, if he had Kelly's dick inside of him _and wow what the hell was that._ He rubbed his face with both hands and groaned as he rolled over so he could bury his face in the alpha's pillow. He was becoming more and more exhausted with his own brain and the thoughts he kept having.

A gentle knock on the doorframe made him look up and glance at Severide. The man was wearing an apron but Casey knew he only had his underwear on under it. 

"Dinner is about ready. You can come sit at the table. Wear something nice, look in the bottom drawer"

He left to finish up in the kitchen and Casey grunted at the idea of getting up and getting dressed. It felt like an excruciating effort to get out of bed, but once he was standing up and putting his boxer on, he found his stomach rumbling at the smell of food cooking in the kitchen and he changed his mind about the whole thing. Looking in the drawer like Severide had advised, he found the man's hockey jersey, the one that only the very special girlfriends got to wear ... well, at least, the special girls he brought to bed until it got a little serious and everything blew in his face. Severide couldn't seem to keep a single one of them. Sucked for the guy. 

Tonight, he was the special girlfriend. Smiling to himself at the idea, he put the jersey on and didn't bother with a pair of pants, walking out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Severide's breath caught when he looked over at him and saw him in the jersey, obviously checking the omega out until a satisfied smirk appeared on his face. Casey could feel the man's eyes on his naked thighs and it was both flattering and distracting. 

"Food ?" He had to ask, before his mind had time to go back to inappropriate bedroom things and he would forget about feeding himself all over again. 

"Hum ?" The alpha's eyes focused back on Casey's and he finally remembered what he had been doing. "Oh yeah, yeah, please have a seat" 

Casey walked to the table and suddenly realised there were candles. Oh. _Oh okay._ He could feel himself smiling, a sincere smile that reached his eyes, as he sat and really took in the whole pretty romantic setup Severide had prepared. _Well if that isn't a date, I don't know what is_. A plate was set in front of him, baked chicken with rice and baked vegetables, and it smelled delicious. Severide sat across him and when Casey looked at him, he was positively glowing. 

"Didn't know you could cook" Casey chuckled, teasing the alpha.

"You know Im full of surprises, Matty " the man retorted with his adorable, playful smile.

They didn't wait any longer to dig in. The food was delicious and the two men were almost too busy eating to engage in conversation. Severide eventually hooked his foot around Casey's ankle and the omega felt goosebumps on his skin and butterflies in his stomach at the gesture. He looked up with a shy smile and Severide smiled back, and suddenly it felt like their whole dynamic was shifting from friendship to something they hadn't _-didn't even know how to_ \- put into words yet ... but something new and warm and nice. Once they were both done eating, they sat there in silence without breaking eye contact, none of them wanting to be the first to move and break the spell. 

The moment was interrupted by a fresh wave of sweet scent and Severide grinned as he stood up.

"Alright, it's that time again" He didn't even bother cleaning up behind them and simply lifted a very embarrassed Casey from his chair to carry him to the bedroom. 

They were both exhausted. Casey's lust was near insatiable and they had been at it all evening long. Severide was lying on his back, sprawled on the bed with his eyes closed, and if it hadn't been for the steady rise and fall of his chest with every breath, Casey would've thought he was dead. He had no idea if the alpha was sleeping or even passed out ... could be any one of those at this point. The truck lieutenant bit his lip as he wondered if Severide would be willing to do it one last time, just to completely appease the burning inside him, or if he would get angry and snap at him. That could also go either way and he almost felt scared to touch him, scared to disrupt his little moment of peace. He didn't move for a few more minutes, trying to make up his mind on either pushing his luck, or calling it a day and trying to go to sleep. The lust finally won and the blonde gently moved towards the squad lieutenant's naked body. To be on the safe side, he decided to at least give Severide some kind of treat for his efforts, something that would make it worth his while. Slowly moving so he wouldn't accidentally bump into Severide, he moved one leg over the man's body so he was straddling him, his knees on either side of the man's thighs. Bending over, he stopped in his tracks with his lips inches away from Severide's dick, when the alpha muttered without opening his eyes: "What the hell are you doing Matty ?"

Casey realised the alpha could probably feel him hovering over him, feel his body heat and his presence closer than before and he bit his lips as he stayed still, holding his breath. Severide didn't speak up again and that was Casey's cue to resume what he had in mind. He gave a very tentative, almost shy lick to the head of the man's cock, then upon realising that it wasn't as weird as he'd initially thought, he gave it a few more. Placing his hands on the bed on either side of the alpha's waist to hold himself steady, he went from enthusiast licks to closing his lips fully around the head and giving it a gentle suck. There was a muffled breathy moan, but Casey soon realised it was his own and blushed ever so slightly as he twirled his tongue around the head of Severide's cock a few times. He kept sucking on it, teasing the slit with his tongue until he could feel the shaft twitch in his mouth, feel it harden and come to life a little more with every suction until the alpha was fully hard and ready for the next step. Now a lot more confident, Casey decided to take the man deeper into his mouth. His progress was slow, the man was probably more than average - _not that Casey had a lot of experience with dicks, he could only compare to his own-_ and Casey was very wary of his gag reflex. When he felt like he couldn't take more, he slowly started to make his way back up, sucking and licking all the way up to the head, which he teased a little more and hummed, pleased with himself, as he found a bead of precum there. As he lapped it up with his tongue, he heard a throaty groan and looked up in surprise to see Severide now wide awake and stalking his every movement with eyes darkened with lust. When he failed to resume his task, the alpha impatiently growled at him and heat invaded Casey's lower belly as he went back to sucking. He was eager to please, even more so now that he knew Severide was watching and enjoying the sight of his pretty omega working on his cock like that. He eventually tried to take too much, choked a little and gentle fingers pulled his head back up a little.

"Easy there, don't hurt yourself" Severide softly said in a husky voice, heavy with arousal and desire.

Casey blinked a few times to chase the tears that had started to form from his choking and focused on things he thought he was good at, like sucking on the head and teasing with his tongue. He soon was rewarded with more sighs and breathy groans and he had to pin the man's hips to the bed to keep them from bucking and choking him again. He was so focused on his task he hadn't even noticed he was leaking from both sides, his own erection with precum and his ass with slick. Severide had noticed, though.

"Want me to knot you again, Matty ?" 

Casey moaned around him. It sounded so wrong yet so right, the soft nickname with that dirty offer and he pulled back with a pop, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

They still were exhausted. They both needed this, they both wanted this, but truth be told, Severide had no idea how he would muster the strength. He nudged Casey so the man moved away from him a little. He decided it would be easiest to spoon and figure it out like that. What happened next was the laziest sex ever, both lying on the bed and spooning, Severide slowly thrusting his hips up and Casey pushing back against him to meet him halfway and make it go deeper, hit harder. They struggled a little to find the best angle, it wasn't ideal but it was all they could manage this late at night after having done it so many times already. It was slow and it took a while, yet somehow it felt very intimate and loving. Severide's breath was hot against Casey's neck and he was nibbling at his scent gland, making the omega squirm and moan and want and _need._ They held each other through it, until Severide's hips faltered and he reached down Casey's body to take hold of his cock and stroke it in time with his last thrusts. They came with a last cry and didn't move from their position, the omega clenching over and over around Severide through his orgasm and milking every last bit of come until there was nothing left to give.

They fell asleep in that same position, with Severide's arm around Casey's waist, his knot filling him delightfully and his breath nice and warm against his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but I figured, why not a little more smut ? And then I seemed like a perfect end for the chapter


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a month since the heat and Matt still had no idea where they were at.

Things had changed between them during that heat. There surely was a lot of sex involved, but Kelly always made sure that Matt was properly fed and taken care of. Though they never properly bonded, Kelly loved to nibble on his scent gland, whether during sex or sometimes when they went to bed after a long day at work, or even when they woke up in each other's arms in the morning. They hadn't slept apart from each other not even once in those four weeks. Kelly mostly insisted that Matt stayed at his place, but they sometimes crashed at Matt's too. Basically, Kelly acted as if he were his alpha, except he never made it official. Matt's head was a lot clearer now that the heat was over and though Kelly's attitude was cute, the omega realised there still was a lot of ambiguity between them and it frustrated him. Kelly insisted that Matt didn't take scent suppressants anymore, because he enjoyed his scent and he wasn't ready to go without it. Matt had tried to object and remind him of how it made them both act weird towards each other, lose their focus on work, jump at each other's throats ... and then it had also triggered a heat. And what a heat it was, Matt felt like he was getting too old for this shit. In the end, the alpha won and no suppressants it was. It didn't bother Matt as much as he thought it would, for now that a heat cycle had happened between them, Kelly's scent didn't make his mind go fuzzy as much as it used to, it was more of a soothing, calming scent and less of an arousing one. Most of the time, that is. He doubted his own scent would have much effect on the alpha, for Kelly kept scent-marking him by rubbing his face against his, stubble nicely scraping at the skin of his jaw and neck and leaving beard burn behind. Basically, he reeked of alpha to any other alpha's nose, which at least had the advantage of buying him more peace and quiet. He was a marked omega, but he wasn't a bonded one and he still didn't have an official mate. He was a _pet_. Ugh, way to have conforting thoughts.

Nothing was clear and Matt absolutely hated it.

It had started to bug him a lot more recently. He always felt on edge, tossing and turning at night when his mind started racing and he couldn't fall asleep, until Kelly growled loud enough to have him submit into being quiet. The alpha would then cuddle with him, stroke his back gently and lull him to sleep with a deep rumbling sound at the back of his throat that ressembled a purr. At work, he felt restless, needing to busy himself with anything or he felt like he would go out of his mind. He was thinking way too much, thinking about Kelly, about them, about everything all at once, enough to give himself headaches that would only worsen his mood. If Kelly noticed anything, he never mentionned it and was as perfect a mate as ever, except he _wasn't Matt's mate and what the fuck._ Matt sometimes hated himself for being so needy and getting worked up over such futile things he didn't use to care about. Before he ran out of suppressants, everything was clear between Kelly and him, they worked together and would hang out with the rest of the team and there would be no ambiguity whatsoever. Part of him wished he could go back to those easier times, but another part, this one stronger, craved the little attentions Kelly kept giving him, wanted more and more and got frustrated upon realising that Kelly just wouldn't bond with him. Then, he got even more frustrated, this time with himself, because he used to want nothing to do with bonding with Kelly and now his emotions were all over the place and ugh, how could his life become so messed up so quickly ?

They were later called on the scene of a car accident with the driver nowhere to be found. The car had crashed quite violently and the windshield was broken with small droplets of blood here and there, leading Casey to believe the driver might have been driving without his seatbelt on and the force of impact could have caused him to be ejected through the windshield. He tried to quickly look around but there was no body to be found and he couldn't see blood anywhere else. It then dawned on him that they were next to a river ... 

"We might have a man in the water" he blurted out and could feel Kelly's eyes on the back of his head, nociting he'd spoken.

It didn't take much longer for Squad 3 to get in their water rescue suit, grab their equipment and proceed to lower Severide in the river to go look for the missing driver. He'd been in the water for a few minutes when a cry from Shay and Dawson made Matt look up. They'd found the driver lying unconscious a little further away. From the smell of his breath, he might have tried to run away to avoid being charged with drinking and driving. The omega winced as the squad team started to grumble under their breaths and bring Severide back up. He knew he'd messed up and when Kelly was back on the road and shot him a dark look, Matt realised he would be in for a serious and probably angry conversation once they were back at the fire station. Matt tried to avoid it, jumping out of the truck as soon as it was parked and walking in the opposite direction, but Kelly wasn't having it and the blonde soon felt a rough hand grab him by the arm and yank him back towards the alpha. 

"Man in the water ? Really ?"

Matt frowned and tried to free his arm from Kelly's grip, but if anything, the alpha only held him tighter, probably hard enough to bruise.

"I said _might._ You decided to go right away"

"Because I trust you. I trust you judgement, I trust your gut. Are you telling me I shouldn't ?" 

"How was I supposed to know he'd run a fucking mile away ?? You didn't double check, don't blame it all on me" Matt retorded, wincing as he heard his own voice crack. 

Suddenly, it felt like the methaphorical dam holding his emotions in check opened, and let it all break free. He felt the first sob rack his body and escape his lips, surprising even himself as he dissolved into tears without further warning. Kelly's expression immediately turned to a concerned one as he released the omega's arm, his brow furrowed in worry and incomprehension. 

"Hey, hey Matty Im sorry ... Im sorry, what's wrong, are you hurt ?" He gently tried to roll the truck lieutenant's sleeve up to see if he had hurt his arm by holding him, but Matt yanked his arm back and shook his head. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and he couldn't stop them. All he could do was grab at Kelly and bury his face in the crook of his neck to hide his break down, the alpha instantly wrapping his arms around him and holding him tight, one hand stroking the hair at the back of the omega's neck. The forest scent helped and Matt breathed it in, trying to calm himself.

"What's wrong, Matty ... ?"

"I don't know ... " came the muffled answer, and gosh his emotions were all over the place and he was a mess. 

They stood there for a moment, Kelly holding Matt through it all until the man regained control of himself and eventually pulled back. Kelly didn't let him go far, holding his face in both hands and wiping away the last tears on his cheeks with his thumbs. They were both glad that everyone was minding their own business and giving Matt time to collect himself without being intrusive. His eyes in Kelly's, he bit his lip and softly ran a hand on the alpha's arm.

"Thanks ... Im sorry, I don't know what that was all about ... " he said a bit sheepishly and Kelly only smiled at him, that smile that reached his beautiful blue eyes and did funny things to Matt.

"Don't worry about it" Kelly's voice was reassuring, the soft little purr he gave as he kissed Matt's forehead made the blonde smile in turn, and just like that, everything was fine again.

When they left the fire station after shift, Kelly insisted that they went back to his apartment to watch the Hawks game. It sounded great by Matt, they both loved their hockey and he was in the mood for pizza, which they ordered once they got there. They were barely home in time for the game and Matt slumped on the couch, turning the tv on. When Kelly came back from his bedroom, he was holding his hockey jersey with a smirk and Matt rolled his eyes. 

"Really ?" 

"Please. For me" 

"Fine ... " 

Matt knew how much Kelly loved to see him in his Blackhawks jersey, he even bet it turned him on a little. Of course, the deal was to wear the jersey with no pants on, only underwear allowed, but it didn't really bother Matt cause he secretly relished in the attention it got him from the alpha, his eyes on his naked thighs and the possessive smile on his lips. He nicely obliged and first took his shirt then his pants off, discarding the clothes on the floor next to the couch and putting the jersey on. Matt then laughed at the soft growl that came from the alpha and Kelly joined him, happy that the blonde seemed in a better mood. While Matt sat on the couch, Kelly went to the kitchen to grab them something to drink and came back to sit next to Matt, handing him a coke, which made the man frown in disbelief, a laugh escaping his lips.

"Are we on a new no beer diet that I didn't know about ? Cause you know coke is basically liquid sugar in a can, definitely not better"

Kelly frowned a that, he obvioulsy hadn't realise he'd gotten them cokes and not beers, and he couldn't even figure out why. An odd feeling in his gut, something that made him instinctively go for the cokes without him really knowing why.

" .... Yeah, well, whatever. Thats what we're having now" he mumbled and Matt shrugged with a smile, he didn't really mind.

As the national anthem started, Matt stood up and put his hand to his head in a mock salute, standing there still in his boxers and proudly wearing the Hawks jersey, and Kelly roared with laughter, making Matt smile brightly at him. Then, the delivery guy arrived with the pizza and the blonde pushed Kelly with his foot so the man would go get the food, never tearing his gaze away from the game. He certainly wouldn't go to the door in his underwear and Kelly laughed as he pushed the omega's foot back and went to get their pizza. They ate their pizza and drank their coke and cheered as the Hawks crushed the Red Wings by a solid 4-1 that had both firefighters standing up and kissing their happiness instead of screaming it, both very aware that they were in an apartment and couldn't just yell at the top of their lungs. They opted for a solid make out session, grabbing and pulling at each other's hair, tongues fighting for dominance and dancing together as the kiss deepened, until both men were out of breath and had to pull away. 

"Detroit can suck on that" 

"I know who else could suck on that" Kelly offered with a smirk and Matt rolled his eyes, punching Kelly's shoulder hard enough that the man could really feel it without actually hurting him. 

They still made their way to the bedroom somehow, a few moments later, pulling at each other's clothes and kissing eagerly. It wasn't their first time having sex when not in heat, in fact they never really stopped doing it once Matt's heat was over and it just felt right. They didn't need another partner, they found all they needed in each other. The first time had been a little awkward, both men looking at each other with a lot more clarity now that the heat wasn't clouding Matt's brain and his very potent scent wasn't making Kelly go crazy with lust. They'd just stood there, both wanting it but unsure if it was right, unsure what it really meant ... until the alpha had walked up to Matt and kissed him and the sparks were back between them. Kelly didn't have to ask if Matt wanted him to knot him, he just knew.

Tonight was no exception. They were starting to know exactly how to please each other, know each other's sweet spots and made sure to put all that knowledge to good use. Matt would suck love bites on the man's throat and would try and master the art of blowjobs on him. Kelly couldn't seem to get enough since that night and Matt was happy to oblige. The alpha would then fuck him senseless sometimes, other days he would take his time and make sweet love to him, and no matter how hard and fast, how nice and slow the sex was, he would knot the omega and they would spend a good half an hour in each other's arms, sometimes kissing and sometimes just looking in each other's eyes without saying a word. 

Matt hissed with pain as Kelly shifted a little, making the knot move inside him. The stretch and the fullness felt good as long as they were holding still. 

"Sorry baby" The alpha planted a kiss on Matt's shoulder and then started to gently bite the skin, moving up to his neck and nibbling there again as he loved to do. It was driving Matt crazy and he closed his eyes, taking deep breaths and willing himself to stay calm. All the thoughts, all the frustration, all the emotions were coming back to him and it made his blood pump. Without thinking any further, he suddenly snapped "Just bite the fucking thing already !!" and Kelly stilled behind him.

_Great. He'd fucked things up._

Then Kelly's warm hand was on his stomach and rubbing the soft skin there as if to soothe him, moving to his thigh and being very gentle. Thankfully the alpha resisted the urge to tell the blonde he was in a mood again. Surely it would've started an argument.

"Is that what you want ?"

Matt bit his lip. He didn't really know what he wanted. He wanted it all to stop, the confusion, the ambiguity, his emotions being all fucked up and he honestly had no idea. But every time Kelly licked or gently bit at his scent gland, he found himself wishing for the bite to be harder, for it to draw blood, to bond them together. He didn't know it if was an irrational thought brought up by the attention given to the gland ... But then Kelly kept him safe and Kelly knotted him good and Kelly made great bacon grilled cheeses and Kelly growled at anyone getting too close to him if he felt they might be threatening and Kelly- Yeah, _Kelly was great_. 

"Yes" 

"We won't be able to go back"

"I know"

"Okay" Kelly's voice was deep but soft, a murmur against Matt's skin and giving him goosebumps. 

The alpha took a deep breath, held onto Matt and bit at the scent gland at the base of his neck with more force than he ever did before. He bit so hard he almost felt bad for the poor omega, as he pierced the skin and drew a little blood. He held on, body arching a little at the sudden sensation that went through him, his knot shifting and pushing inside Matt and making the omega cry out as he went through what felt like a dry orgasm, panting and moaning and arching and forcing Kelly to follow the movement for the knot to stay in place and not hurt the omega too much. He suddenly felt as if his soul were on fire, all his senses full of Matt and Matt only and it was the greatest feeling. He pulled his head back a little to admire his work, smile at the visible mark then start licking it. Matt maoned softly at the touch, relaxing back in Kelly's arms and murmuring his name. 

The licking eventually brought Matt to sleep, a content smile on his lips, and Kelly was soon to follow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BANNERS - Start a Riot  
> I listened to this song on repeat while writing this chapter, because it made me think of Kelly ready to do anything for his little omega. I always have tons of songs that remind me of my OTPs and I thought I'd share this one with you because why not ! ;)

Matt woke up feeling calm and refreshed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept that well but he knew for sure it had been before Andy died, so it definitely was a good while ago. Kelly was still asleep, looking calm and relaxed, with a loose arm wrapped around Matt's waist. Sunlight pierced through the curtains and bathed the bedroom in a warm glow, caressing Kelly's face and making the silver in his hair shine beautifully. He was like a work of art, beautiful and perfect and Matt lost himself in the moment, lovingly watching his alpha sleep. He was feeling so great it seemed almost too good to be true and he didn't want to move and break the spell, afraid it might all be a dream from which he would wake up if he dared move.

A basic biological need finally got the best of him and he gently moved Kelly's arm from his waist, placing a soft butterfly kiss on the man's temple before moving to get out of bed without disrupting the alpha's sleep. As soon as his feet were on the ground, he felt something else, something very unpleasant rising inside him. It was ruining his perfect morning, the sudden nausea that came from nowhere and made him bolt for the bathroom just in time. His discomfort slowly woke Kelly up, the alpha frowning at this new weird feeling inside, the way he could instantly know that Matt wasn't feeling okay and how it resonated with him. He stretched a little, turning on his side so he could face the open door and call out for Matt without actually getting up. 

"You okay there?"

He got a grunt in response and his omega slowly made his way back to the bedroom, stopping in the doorframe and leaning against it. Kelly couldn't help but smile at Matt's bed head, his hair sticking up at odd angles, making him look adorable. He had a slight frown on his face but he actually felt better now. There just wasn't anything pleasant with throwing up and it affected his mood, ruined his perfect morning. 

"Im fine ... Probably had too much pizza or something, my stomach didn't take it well ... Maybe it was your fucking coke" He finished with a smile forming on his lips and Kelly chuckled as he finally stood up and walked up to Matt to run a hand through his hair, trying to get it back in place. The other hand gave a gentle, soothing rub to Matt's upset stomach. "Coffee ?" 

The omega thought about it for a minute, then nodded. He wasn't feeling very hungry right now and didn't think he could stomach food so soon after being sick, but the thought of coffee was nice. Kelly kissed his forehead and went to the kitchen to brew the coffee while Matt took a quick, cold shower. He got out feeling fresh and happy again, his smile back as he made his way to the kitchen. They had their coffee in a comfortable silence, sitting across each other at the table with their mugs, smiling at each other and not needing to say anything to understand they were both glad for this little moment of peace they got to share. Matt thought he could get used to mornings like these ... sickness apart. 

After coffee, Kelly went to take a shower and Matt aimed for the bedroom with the idea of getting dressed and ready for shift. When the alpha came back to the bedroom, already dressed and ready to go, he found Matt still in his underwear, fumbling around his drawers and dumping t-shirts and blankets on the floor in a corner of the room. The pile was actually quite large, the omega had even taken the bed's sheets and added that to the rest. He only noticed Kelly when the alpha cleared his throat loudly, getting his attention. Even then, he stood there with a sweatshirt in his hands, looking at the alpha as if he didn't understand why he was interrupting him. It didn't take him long to get back to his task, smelling the sweatshirt and frowning slightly.

"Matty, are you nesting again?" 

"Im not" the omega scoffed, walking up to him and handing him the sweatshirt. "Can you scent this ?" 

"Matt, we have to go to work" 

The omega wasn't listening and since Kelly wouldn't do it, he'd scent the damn sweatshirt himself. Muttering under his breath, he started to rub the shirt against Kelly's neck and the man couldn't keep a straight face at that, breaking into a laugh and grabbing the shirt from Matt's hands to properly scent it, since the blonde wanted it so much. When he gave it back, Matt went to dump it on the growning pile in the corner of the bedroom and started looking for more stuff to add to it. Kelly had to grab him by the arm and drag him out of the bedroom to finally snap him out of it. 

"Is it time for work already ?"

"Yes Matt, wait here" He didn't wanna risk the omega going back there and getting lost in his nesting frenzy again. He went to grab Matt's clothes in the bedroom and brought them back out for Matt to put on. They finally were able to leave the apartment in time, Kelly's head full of questions at what had just happened but not daring to ask the omega who seemed quite normal now, talking about work stuff as if nothing had happened.

By the time they made it to the fire station, Matt had found his appetite back. He went to the kitchen to get himself something and sat at a table to eat, until Herrmann opened the fridge and shouted his disapprobation.

"Hey !! Who took my chocolate pudding ??"

Matt chuckled and raised his hand with no shame, making Herrmann roll his eyes.

"Not cool lieutenant, not cool ... H-Hey, what the hell are you doing to my pudding ?! Oh, that's disgusting ... " he exclaimed as he realised Matt was actually dipping pickles in said chocolate pudding and eating it as a sort of dip. For pickles. A chocolate dip for pickles. What the actual fuck.

"It's actually good, you know" Matt retorted, shrugging as he kept eating his snack.

All the shouting got other people's attention and Kelly soon came to take a look at what was going on. When he actually saw what Matt was eating, he barked out a laugh.

"Damnit Casey, are you pregnant ?" He teased, until sudden realisation dawned upon him and his face fell. He leaned towards Matt and murmured hastily "Matty, _are you_ pregnant ?"

The truck lieutenant laughed and gently pushed the alpha back a little so he wasn't invading his space so much, taking a bite of pickle.

"Definitely not. We used condoms"

"Oh ... Yeah. Yeah, okay. You're just a freak then" and Matt laughed again as Kelly smirked at him and went back to sit at the squad table. 

Later that day, things started to get weird again- and Matt could swear they just didn't stop being weird lately, couldn't he catch a break ?

They were just getting back from a call, in which Matt had gotten slightly hurt. Nothing too bad, just something falling on his upper back that would probably leave a bruise, but almost nobody had noticed it because he got up quickly and it didn't hurt bad enough for him to bother getting it checked. Only Cruz knew, because he'd been with him inside the house at the time, helping him carry out a quite heavy man who'd passed out from smoke inhalation and needed to be taken to the hospital fast. Back at the firehouse, Cruz came up to Matt to check on him.

"Hey lieutenant" and he reached to touch Matt's shoulder to get his attention, get him to turn around, but as Matt did so, Kelly forced himself between them with a loud growl, one hand protectively reaching behind his back to keep Matt out of harm's way, hovering over the blonde's stomach, while he confronted Cruz with more growling. Matt frowned and grabbed the man's arm, trying to pull him back a little, as Cruz himself took a few steps back and raised both hands in front of him in a passive surrender. 

"Kelly, what the hell, it's Cruz, everything's fine" 

But Kelly didn't seem very willing to relax, even as Matt kept trying to pull him back. He was actually taking a few steps forward, making Cruz back up again and again, now looking slightly scared the squad lieutenant might punch him ... or worse. Sensing that he was losing control of the situation, Matt decided to take action. He'd learned to do that a long time ago, because his omega nature naturally tend to put him in situation where he had to defend himself or make himself heard and prove himself. Most of the time, he could sort of tune out his instincts momentarily and take charge when needed, and right now, the situation called for it. 

"ENOUGH" 

Kelly stopped dead in his tracks as the sharp scent of anger faded away from him and he slowly turned around to glance at the omega, eyebrows raised in surprise. He looked like he was gonna argue, but Matt didn't let him.

"There's no threat. Cruz is family. Now you'll get your shit together and stop jumping at people's throat at the firehouse. I wasn't a hopeless lady that needed saving before the heat happened, and I certainly ain't one now. So enough" His voice was calm but firm, the voice of a man who wasn't taking shit from anybody, not even from his own idiot alpha. Kelly held his gaze for a few seconds before he lowered his and muttered a vague apology to Cruz. Well that was that. Submissive Kelly ... Somehow that turned Matt on more than it should've. The slight change in his scent made Kelly look up again, this time with a little smirk.

"My my ... Matthew Casey, are you going all alpha on me?"

"Don't make me" he answered back with a hint of seriousness in his voice despite his smile.

Cruz was long gone by now, the whole team loved Severide but during his sudden outbursts, they had learned to steer clear of him if they wanted to avoid trouble. It was something they were all used to by now, working with an impulsive alpha with a tendency for poor life choices and who's usual first response to pain was anger, was challenging at times. Now that they were both alone again, Kelly allowed himself to reach a hand to Matt's belly and rest it against him through his shirt. Seeing that Matt rolled his eyes at him, about to say something, he cut him off quickly. 

"Matty, I've been thinking about it and I think we fucked up" 

"What are you talking about ?" 

"The first night of your heat. The last time we fucked, that night. Im pretty sure we didn't use a condom. At least I can't remember putting one on. We were beat, we ... I think we didn't" There was a slight panic in his voice and feeling his alpha distressed like that ignited a moment of panic in Matt too. He tried to rack his brain, tried to remember if they had used a condom or not, he remembered they used a damn lot but they also had a loooot of sex and ... fuck. He didn't know. He couldn't recall. The fact that he couldn't be _sure_ that they had used one made a cold shiver run down his spine and he almost felt nauseous again.

"Shit"

"Fuck" 

At least they both agreed on that.

"Its probably nothing. I mean come on, it happens once and suddenly Im pregnant ? You got super strong sperm or something ?" Casey sneered, trying to cover his growing panic with sarcasm.

"Matt, think about it. You were in heat, those are the most fertile times for omegas, everybody knows that. Its the first rule for alphas, don't fuck an omega in heat bareback unless you wanna pay for child support"

" ... Wow. Thanks. I feel better already" Matt said with a frown, making Kelly wince and add a soft "I mean with one night stands, you know, I don't mean with your mate and- "

"Kelly. I get it. Still, it doesnt mean anything"

"Morning sickness and eating pickles with chocolate pudding ? You are so fucking pregnant Matty"

" ... Shit"

"Fuck"

They rushed straight to the pharmacy together after shift. Matt had offered to go by himself, but Kelly had insisted to come and they found themselves both standing in an aisle, staring at all the different pregnancy tests available. Matt honestly had no idea what he was doing, he definitely didn't think there would be that many choices and he suddenly felt a surge of sympathy for the poor women who had to deal with all that crap. It seemed unnecessarily complicated. They both refused to ask for help of any kind, they were already embarrassed enough as it was. Kelly finally pointed to a certain brand and Matt shrugged as he grabbed a handful of those - _just in case, you know_ \- and they headed for the counter to pay for their stuff. 

Matt just dropped all the tests on the counter and stood there awkwardly, feeling his cheeks burning and a blush creep up his neck and his face. Kelly was standing close to him, hands in his pockets and trying to play it cool. The girl at the counter could barely hold back her amused smile at the sight of them and Matt felt sure they looked like two idiots who had no idea what they were doing. Probably even looked like anxious teenagers afraid they had done something bad. He avoided the girl's eyes -she looked barely eighteen, and damnit, they were clearly being judged by a _teenager_ , help- and handed her his credit card to pay for the tests. When she handed it back to him, along with the bad containing his purchases, she smiled brightly at them both.

"Good luck ! Have a nice day !" and Matt gave her a little smile before Kelly practically dragged him out of the pharmacy and back to the car.

They drove in silence to Kelly's place, both a little on edge. Kelly's grip on the wheel was so tight his knuckles were turning white and Matt absent-mindedly ran a soothing hand on the alpha's arm until his grip relaxed a little. When they made it back to the apartment, they almost ran to the bathroom to figure this out. Without really taking the time to read the instructions on the packaging, Matt tore it open and took the little plastic stick in hand. They both stared at it for a moment, trying to muster the courage.

"So what now ... ?"

"Now you pee on the stick"

"Yeah, yeah okay" Matt took a deep breath then unbuttonned his jeans and pushed them down along with his underwear to sit on the toilet and hold the stick under him, between his legs, trying to aim correctly with his other hand. This was awkward. Way easier for ladies, he supposed. He waited and waited, but there seemed to be something in him that just couldn't let go, a sense of dread that kept him clenching and holding back and he couldn't remember the last time he felt this scared. He was a grown man, he ran into fires for a living, but still he couldn't pee on a little stick. Kelly was staring at him with apprehension and Matt rolled his eyes.

"Turn around, stop staring at me ! You're stressing it"

"Sorry, sorry" the alpha said a bit sheepishly as he turned his back to Matt to give him a little privacy.

It took a minute or two, but then Matt finally managed it. He didn't have time to look at the stick because Kelly quickly turned around and snatched it from his hands. 

"Careful, don't splash pee everywhere, oh my god .... So ? What does it say ??"

"I- I don't know. I don't know what two blue lines mean" 

"Do you have the instructions?"

The alpha looked around, then realised he had discarded the packaging in the bathroom trash can and he quickly picked it up to scan the back of the packaging for indications. When he found what he was looking for, he glanced back at Matt and the look on his face made the omega sigh.

"Really ... ? It must be false positive or something. Maybe the test is broken. Hand me another one, we can do two out of three or something"

When the two next tests he took came back positive with the same two blue lines staring back at him, Matt had no choice but to admit to himself that he was indeed pregnant. The tests couldn't be wrong three times in a row.

"Shit"

But this time, Kelly's _fuck_ didn't follow. The man was oddly quiet, but definitely didn't look panicked.

Matt noticed his hand was shaking as he put the three tests back on the counter and Kelly gently grabbed it to hold it in his, squeezing Matt's fingers. The alpha's hand was warm and comforting and Matt looked back up at him, biting his lip.

"So ... what does it mean now ... ?"

"Means we're having a pup"

Matt frowned slightly. Kelly looked very calm and composed at the news, a lot more so than Matt who had to do everything in his power not to freak out and have a break down right here right now. 

"And you're okay with that ?"

Kelly chuckled and he shrugged with a smile, one of his beautiful smiles that reached his eyes and always made Matt smile back. "You kidding ? With the great genetics between us, we'll have the most beautiful pup in the world"

The alpha was positively glowing and he sounded so sure, so confident, so ready to face this that Matt's eyes filled up with tears. He held out his arms and Kelly reached for him, gently lifting him up from the toilet and helping him get his pants back up, before holding the omega in a tight embrace. This time, Matt didn't apologise for his crying. He just let it all out, because he was scared and because Kelly was being so good with this and he was torn between feeling like shit and feeling loved and cared for and happy. As he cried on Kelly's shoulder, he tried to tell himself that it would be alright. Now that he knew, he understood the hormones were not helping his mood swings and that simple thought felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, because there was now a rational explanation for it and it made sense. His very confusing life was getting clearer and clearer now. Kelly and him were mates. He wasn't going mad, he was just pregnant.

Oh god.

 _He was pregnant_.

"How are we even gonna do this, Kel ?"

"We'll figure it out, Matty"

And Matt believed him, because his scent was calming and his voice was steady as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. He believed him because he wanted to trust that things would be alright. They had to be alright, because as scared as he was, Matt was never getting rid of this baby. His baby. Their baby. It was no more that the size of a poppy seed right now, but now that Matt knew it was there, he felt an immediate connexion to it, an attachment that knew no bounds. That scared him even more, but it also felt really good. 

So Matt cried until he felt better, until he could pull back slightly and mutter with a pout:

"I'll look like a whale ... "

"A beautiful whale, though" Kelly laughed and kissed him. A kiss that felt different. It was soft and chaste, until Kelly ran his tongue over Matt's bottom lip and the omega opened up to let him in. They were used to deep, passionate kisses full of lust and need and desire, the ones they gave each other as they shed their clothes and grabbed at each other's bodies ... but they rarely kissed with such sincerity and affection. When their lips parted and Matt could catch his breath, he opened his mouth to say something but the alpha beat him to it.

"I love you"

For some reason, that made Matt burst in tears once again. Happy tears this time, nothing to do with fear or stress. Ask any omega and they'll tell you about the profound happiness and relief of having your mate stick by your side when you're expecting. It can sometimes be so easy for alphas to get omegas pregnant during a heat and then disappear without a trace and its a fear that every omega entertains at some point, but Matt didn't have time to worry about it, didn't even need to, and he felt overwhelmed as he sobbed in the alpha's arms.

"I-I-I ... "

"Yeah... I know" Kelly smiled as the poor omega was unable to say it back, the words choked by his sobs. He knew. He could feel it in his soul. 

They would be more than fine. He was sure of it.

Matt, him ... and the pup.


	10. Chapter 10

Week 12. Morning sickness was worst than ever. 

Being pregnant _sucked_.

Matt stood up from his now place of choice on the floor next to the toilet, after yet another wave of morning sickness. He was used to it by now, almost bored by it, walking automatically to the bathroom as soon as he woke up and got out of bed. It was becoming a habit, a part of his daily routine, after two months of doing it every morning. Kelly sometimes still made a face, winced at the noises as Matt dry heaved on an empty stomach with nothing left to get out, but Matt would then stand back up, wash his hands and face and join him for breakfast as if nothing had happened. Once the wave of nausea was gone, he always was hungry and would eat normally, which always amazed the alpha. Matt was so strong and Kelly was secretly very glad he wasn't in his shoes. Being the mom sucked.

Walking out of the bathroom as usual, he noticed something different this time. Something that made him stop and stare, frowning a little at the sight that had caught his attention. His reflexion in the mirror. The mirror was a bit too high over the counter for him to get a proper look at what he wanted to see, so he went to the bedroom instead to look at himself in the floor mirror. Either he had become fat ... or he was starting to show.

I was barely there, a very small bump, nothing that would be noticeable under his shirt, but standing there in only his underwear, Matt could see it. It was also easier to notice because he used to have a pretty flat stomach with a hint of abs, and those were gone now. It wasn't much, but Matt couldn't stop staring at it, slowly running a hand over the bump and feeling a smile tug at his lips. It suddenly felt very real, if the morning sickness wasn't enough of a proof ... and he thought it would scare him a little, but it didn't. It made him happy. 

Kelly was starting to wonder why he was taking so long and called his name from the kitchen, making sure he wasn't passed out on the bathroom floor or something. Matt didn't even look up, too amazed by the sight. 

"Kel, come see that"

He heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor and soon the alpha was walking in the room and straight to Matt, hugging him from behind and gently placing both hands on his stomach as he had started to do often, only this time he quickly pulled back to turn Matt around and get a better look at the little bump his hands had found there. A smile spread across his lips as he kneeled in front of the blonde, rubbing his thumb across the smooth skin and placing a kiss right above his belly button. 

"You know how long I've been waiting to talk to a baby bump ? Two months. Two months, Matty" and the omega smiled as he ran a hand through the alpha's hair, letting him properly adress the pup.

"Hey there little shrimp, its daddy" 

"Shrimp ?" Matt asked disbelievingly, raising an eyebrow at him with a chuckle.

"Don't tell me you don't have a nickname for it. We both call it pup, sure, but surely you have something else"

Matt blushed slightly, looking a little sheepish.

" ... Squishy ... " Kelly laughed and rested his forehead on Matt's stomach until the laughter subsided and he looked up at him again.

"And you're judging Shrimp" he rolled his eyes in an overly dramatic way for the fun of it, laughing some more as the omega slapped his shoulder.

The alpha left a trail of kisses across the small bump then stood up to properly kiss Matt, smiling brightly as he led him to the kitchen for breakfast. The plate that was set in front of Matt was full of eggs, bacon and pancakes and he groaned at the size of it.

"Feels like you're fattening me like a pig"

"You know you'll eat every last bit and still complain you're starving. You're eating for two now, baby" 

"Actually, it feels like I'm eating for a whole army" but Kelly was right anyway, he was going to eat all of it. Then probably have an apple. Then an orange. And maybe a piece of toast with peanut butter. It had gotten so bad that Kelly now fed him at home before shift so he wouldn't eat half the supplies they had at the firehouse. Matt didn't mind, he loved when Kelly cooked for him. There were perks to having an alpha, it sort of gave you the chance to let yourself be taken care of without looking needy or anything. He didn't have to ask for it, Kelly just did it anyway, it was in his nature, it was instinctive and he did it very well. 

That night after work, they both agreed to go to Molly's to hang out with the team. It had been a while since they'd gone out with them and to be honest, Matt missed them and felt like he needed his work family more than ever now that he was going through such a major event in his life. They had no idea yet and Matt still hadn't figured out how to tell them, and now that he was starting to show a little, he knew he had to find a way soon or someone would eventually notice ... But that was still a work in progress. That didn't stop him from going to Molly's after shift, where he was greeted by cheers and smiles for finally showing up to one of their gatherings - _yeah, it had been too long_. Herrmann set a beer in front of him as he sat at the bar, and before he had time to find a way to politely refuse it, Kelly was by his side, grabbing the beer for himself and smiling brightly.

"Get this guy something virgin" clasping Matt's shoulder as he said so, "My pup isn't old enough to drink yet" 

Well. 

Now Matt didn't have to figure out how to tell everyone. Thanks Kel. He didn't say it loud enough for everybody to hear, but as Herrmann realised what the squad lieutenant had said _he_ made sure everyone would know.

"WHAT ?? YOU'RE PREGNANT ?"

Matt's face was burning, he was probably turning a bright shade of red. He hadn't exactly planned for things to go like that, but seeing everybody suddenly look at them and Kelly proudly and happily stand tall, almost puffing out his chest as he bathed in the looks of surprise and delight, Matt knew this was right. He let out a small laugh of relief as the place erupted in cheers and claps and congratulations. Dawson came up to him to rest a hand on his shoulder and kiss his cheek, a bright look in her eyes. It made Matt feel good and he smiled back, gently squeezing her hand before he turned back to Kelly who was still walking around, proud as a peacock. Clearing his throat loudly, he called out to him with an amused smile.

"Don't look so proud, _I_ carry the baby, I'm doing all the work"

There were laughters and Cruz patted Kelly on the back, but the alpha didn't falter and simply shrugged with a smile.

"And you're doing it beautifully. But it's still gonna be the best pup in the world and I played a part in that, so you bet I'll look proud as hell" and Matt could only smile brightly at him.

Everyone made sure he didn't drink a single drop of alcohol during the evening, not that he was going to, but it was so easy to sometimes get carried away in the moment and forget. They were improvising virgin drinks and having fun. The girls were asking questions and he was happy to answer, he barely knew anything about pregnancies so they were actually helpful in figuring some things out. Kelly related the story of how they'd gone to buy the pregnancy tests and then after a good laugh, he proudly told everyone that Matt was actually starting to show and Matt happily let Brett, Shay and Dawson touch the bump, seeing that they were dying to but didn't dare ask and be intrusive or impolite. 

Matt didn't think he could get happier than that. He thought everything was perfect in his life before the heat, before Kelly, when they were only Casey and Severide and the whole alpha/omega thing didn't interfere ... but things had changed completely in such a short time and he could now realise everything he was missing on. A caring, cheeky and hot as hell mate by his side and a baby on the way. An actual meaningful relationship, that ran deeper than words, deeper than everything he'd known before. 

When they went back to Kelly's place that night, they were both exhausted but happy and they cuddled in bed, falling asleep in no time, a smile on their lips and Kelly's warm hand resting on Matt's stomach.

Two days later was the first ultrasound appointment and Matt was freaking out. He was both anxious and excited and his mind was racing as he paced around the living room with Kelly starting at him from the kitchen with a smile on his lips. The alpha had tried to calm him down over and over again, but it didn't seem to be doing much and he'd just given up and let Matt live his anxiety. If even a warm hug with his nose full of calming forest scent didn't do the trick, nothing would. 

"At least put your clothes on so we're ready to leave on time" 

Matt absent-mindedly walked to the bedroom to grab a sweatshirt and pants. He now spent most of his time at Kelly's, so he'd brought a couple changes of clothes so he wouldn't have to constantly go back and forth between the two apartments. Once he was dressed, he resumed his pacing until it was time to go. Kelly drove them to the clinic and they didn't have to wait long in the waiting room before a nice, gentle looking lady called Matt's name. The omega didn't let go of Kelly's hand and insisted for him to accompany him for the exam, making the lady smile. _Their_ pup. They could both see their pup. Matt believed that her smile was due to Kelly's presence, since she might usually see many omegas come in here for an ultrasound alone, their alpha having bailed on them ... 

Matt had to put on a gown and lie on his back on the exam table. Now that he was there, he wasn't stressed as much and he mostly just wanted the test to be over, because he really needed to pee. Kelly was standing beside the table and was holding his hand. The nice lady smeared a clear gel on his skin and he felt a small chill go through him as it was a little cold. She then moved the transducer, sliding it over his belly while applying gentle pressure. It wasn't so bad and Matt relaxed a little more. Suddenly, the lady exclaimed a soft "Oh" and Kelly abruptly looked up, worried.

"What is it ? Is it healthy ? Something's wrong with it ?" 

The lady chuckled softly. "No. There is nothing wrong with them"

Wait. _Them_ ? 

"You've got yourself three beautiful babies and the results are all coming back normal. Everything is going well. Do you want to see them and hear the heartbeats ?"

Matt's head was spinning and he momentarily forget how to breathe. When he anxiously looked up to Kelly for comfort, he realised the alpha looked nothing like his usual composed self and looked as freaked out as Matt believed he looked himself. The omega tightened his grip on Kelly's hand and the alpha finally squeezed back, but his eyes never met his. He was staring at the screen the lady had just turned towards them, showing them the vague forms of their babies. Matt could hardly make anything out of all that blur, but he suddenly got a warm feeling in his chest the more he looked at it. Then they heard them, the heartbeats. One at a time, all of them strong and rapid and making Matt's worry melt and a smile form on his lips. His babies. They were okay and the omega suddenly felt like crying, but he choked back his tears. The lady gave them pictures of the ultrasound and Matt could then get cleaned up and change back into his own clothes. _And pee._

Matt couldn't stop smiling the whole ride home, resting a hand on his belly and gently rubbing it. They needed a new nickname, what with having three pups in there. Shrimp, Squishy and ... Yeah, they needed a third one. He didn't know, he'd have to ask Kelly about that. He didn't dare talk about it immediately, for the alpha still seemed a little in shock at the news and Matt wanted to give him time to process it without rushing him. The ride was silent, but Matt wasn't worried.

That is, until they got into the apartment. Matt took his shoes off and started to make his way inside, but Kelly remained standing near the door, his car keys in hand. When Matt turned to him with a frown, the alpha avoided his eyes.

"Im going for a drive" 

And he walked out the door without another word, leaving behind a very confused and worried Matt. He knew Kelly had his own weird way of dealing with stuff, but he couldn't help but feel like he wouldn't like what happened next. Because right before he left, Kelly didn't smell right. He smelled like burning wood and ashes and bitterness.

He smelled like fear.

He smelled like he wouldn't be coming back any time soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Three pups. 

How could they even raise three pups ?

_It was absolutely insane_.

Kelly had to go. He had to remove himself from the situation, take a few steps back and breathe. He could picture the pained look on Matt's face as he turned his back on him and opened the door. He could almost hear the soft "Wait ... " that Matt didn't say, knew the omega had stopped the words from leaving his mouth, afraid to scare him away even more. He knew he'd hurt him, but he also knew he would hurt him more if he stayed. So he ran, because it was easier. He was good at that, running. He was good at messing up, always had been. He would either invest himself way too much in a relationship that was bound to fail from the very beginning, refusing to see the signs, the red flags that should've told him it was a bad idea ... or he ran from the actual relatonships that could potentially work, because maybe deep down he was scared of it. Scared of what would happen if he were to let himself be truly happy.

Maybe he was afraid of happiness and was only sabotaging himself. 

He needed to drive. Drive on and on to clear his head and breathe a little better. He had no idea where he was going, didn't have any plan, but he knew he had to keep on driving. Windows down and music loud to mute his thoughts and escape himself for a moment. His shoulders were tensed and his knuckles white from his death grip on the steering wheel and he took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down a little. For the two first hours, he refused to think. Denied the thoughts that came into his mind, too painful for him to be ready to face them. He only wished he could forget the knots in his stomach and the way his chest would tighten with dread at the mere idea of what was ahead. 

_Three fucking_ _pups._

He couldn't breathe. He went a little more heavy on the accelerator, building a little more speed and turning the volume up. He knew he was being a little careless, but he could only think of two ways to drown the fear that wouldn't let go of him. Alcohol or adrenaline. He chose the later, because it was late afternoon and he wouldn't go as low as to get shitfaced at 4pm. So he drove fast and he listened to his music so loud he could feel the beat pulse in rythm with his heartbeat in his ribcage and it was distracting enough for a while. Then, after he nearly got caught by a cop but managed to slow down just in time before he could be noticed and look too suspicious, he decided it wasn't worth the risk and kept going at a safer speed. 

But the thoughts were back and he knew he had to face them eventually.

He was very excited for a pup of his own. He'd always known he wanted pups one day or another, and though it had been unexpected and unplanned, he couldn't think of any better mate that Matt to raise pups with. The man was good and he was caring and he knew he would do everything and anything to protect and care for his babies. But if a pup had been exciting, three pups had been scary as hell. How were they supposed to raise three babies at the same time ? Of course, Matt would stay home for a while after birth to care for the babies, the chief would definitely allow it ... But with three, Kelly would have to stay home too. Matt couldn't feed three babies at the same time, handle two crying babies while he changed a diaper, give a bath to three babies all at once ... It was insane. The omega would never have time to eat, sleep or do anything to care for himself. Even with Kelly there, he didn't know how they could manage. At best, they could care for two at a time. Then how would they pay for everything ? If they were both home, who would bring back money to support the family ? One baby was already expensive, but _three?_ The whole idea seemed insane and even though Kelly tried to find different ways to approach this situation, he couldn't find one of them that seemed sustainable. They simply couldn't do it.

He noticed the sun was setting when he crossed from Illinois to Missouri. He'd been driving for a solid five hours and he decided to stop to grab a bite. He sat alone in a little diner and had a -very greasy, but he wouldn't have wanted it any other way- burger with fries, which he ate in silence, lost in thoughts. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket but didn't dare pick it up to check. He knew it would be Matt and he knew the man wouldn't be mad at him, but only asking if he was okay. He didn't have the strength to face that right now. He finished up his food, then drove a little more, stopped for gas and made his way to a nearby bar. It wasn't crowded yet, it was still pretty early, but he needed a drink or twelve. He knew deep down he was simply avoiding the problem and that it wasn't particularly mature or healthy, but he comforted himself with the idea that after enough of the burning liquor down his throat, he would forget even his name and not have to worry about anything for a moment. So he drank. Strong stuff. A shot to himself being a coward. A shot to his messed up way of dealing with anything in his life. A shot each for all of his ruined relationships, and there were many of those. 

He was getting shitfaced and it was barely 7pm. He was a mess.

He stumbled out of the bar after midnight, after getting into a nasty fight with another alpha who thought he was looking at his omega a little too much. Kelly couldn't care less about the man's omega, he absolutely didn't give a shit. The last alert and functioning neuron in his brain tried to explain to the man that he had a mate at home and didn't want anything to do with his omega, but things had escalated and he'd had to throw a punch or two. Even drunk, he still had it. Wasn't his first bar fight, and his body was used to spring into action even though he wasn't fully alert -one had to learn to do that, when being a firefighter. He didn't even get bruised. One punch was enough to send the man to the ground and he didn't wait to see if he would stand back up. He left without looking back, a little unsteady on his feet, walking laboriously to the nearby little motel where he could spend the night. The man at the reception looked unfazed at the sight of yet another very drunk man checking into the hotel. Kelly made his way to his room and dropped on the bed as soon as he'd locked behind himself. 

When he woke up the next morning, he was badly hung over and he missed Matt very much. Picking up his phone from the bedside table, he looked at the single text Matt had sent him. A very simple text asking if he was okay. Biting his lip, he pondered for a moment and finally decided to answer with a very simple **_yes_** that, in reality, would probably worry Matt as much as it would comfort him. At least he'd know he was alive ... He appreciated the fact that his omega was strong-minded and independant and could take care of himself, and that he wasn't begging Kelly to come back. He was letting him live his thing and it made it easier on the alpha. _Easier to fuck everything up ..._

He decided to spend the day in his motel room, feeling like shit because of the massive hangover and definitely not ready to hit the road again. He called the firehouse to let the chief know he felt very sick this morning and wouldn't be coming in for shift. It wasn't a total lie, after all. Except he also wouldn't be coming in because he was all the way down to Missouri. He checked out of the motel the next morning, had a nice plate of fried chicken and waffles before he was back on the road again. Definitely not ready to go back home, instead driving down to Kansas City. On his way there, he couldn't stop his mind wandering again to all those worries he was trying so badly to escape. 

_Three fucking pups_

A thought suddenly came to mind and he felt his heart thump in his chest at the idea. _What if they were three little omegas? How could he fucking protect his grown ass omega AND three tiny ones ??_ It was way too much of a burden for one man. He just couldn't do it, he wasn't strong enough mentally and he didn't have it in him. He wasn't a protector, he was a fucking coward. As long as he fought fires, he felt in control, he knew what to do and how to be brave, but when it came to feelings and caring about people around him, things were different. He couldn't protect three little pups, hell, he couldn't even properly take care of Matt. He'd left him all alone to himself after the big news. He wasn't dad material. Or a good mate, for that matter. Fuck.

He stopped in Kansas City for the night and resisted the urge to go get drunk again in the nearest bar. It was a bad idea and he knew he had to keep a clear head to try and think everything over for what felt like the hundredth time. He was trying very hard to tell himself that it would be alright, but so far, he hadn't managed to convince himself. Matt wasn't texting him and he wasn't sure if it was a good sign or not. He missed the man quite a lot. He missed waking up in his arms in the morning, missed his cute bed head and his adorable smile as he woke up and Kelly was the first thing he saw. He missed him so much, but he was so scared. He'd never been good with talking about how he felt, keeping it all bottled up until it all went wrong. Because it always did. He couldn't go back to Matt ... the omega deserved better. Gosh, he missed him. But also screw him for making him _three fucking pups,_ one would've been plenty enough. 

At this point, he didn't even call the firehouse. He knew Matt must've told them all that he bailed. Or maybe only told the chief, and lied to everybody else, because Matt was precious like that. Kelly had no idea how long he would be gone. He knew he would have to go back one day, but he couldn't tell when he would muster the courage. He was still worried out of his mind and didn't feel at all ready to face the situation and everything it implied. But he would have to go back, or disappear forever. He couldn't go back to 51, to his life as it used to be, but without Matt and the pups part. If he wanted out, it was out of the whole thing. Start something completely new somewhere else. He couldn't think clearly and he needed more time. 

He ended up staying three more days. It had almost been a week since he was gone, when one morning he got a text from Matt. A text that made his heart skip a few beats.

_**Something's wrong** _

Kelly was instantly filled with a terrible sense of dread.

**_With the pups ??_ **

A sense of dread that quickly turned to horror at Matt's reply.

**_Yes_ **

No. No no no no no. He couldn't let anything happen to his pups. No fucking way.

He tried to call Matt as he hurriedly checked out of yet another motel and got into his car as fast as he could. The blonde wouldn't pick up and it only freaked out Kelly even more. He had a seven hour drive to Chicago and he wasn't sure he could make it in time to prevent whatever was happening, wasn't even sure he _could_ prevent it. He sped up on the highway, going fast and not caring, trying to save as much time as he could on that long drive. He was absolutely panicked. Matt wouldn't answer his phone and he didn't know who else to call or what else to do to have information. He ended up calling the hospital, thinking that maybe they could tell him if Matt had be admitted there, but the lady on the phone couldn't give him any information, something about confidentiality and whatever. Kelly had to refrain from snapping at her. He hung up without another word and threw his phone on the passenger seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly. 

It was the longest, most nerve-wracking drive he'd ever done. He was worried the whole time and the road seemed to go on forever. When he finally saw the signs for Chicago, he was about to have a mental breakdown. Without even stopping by the apartment, he went straight to the hospital, parked his car and almost ran into the building. He went sraight to the lady at the reception, asking for Matt, telling that he was his boyfriend, his mate, the father of his babies, desperately asking if he could see him, if everything was alright. She made him sit in the waiting room for a moment, until a nurse came and called his name, asking him to follow her. She took him to a room, where Matt was lying on a bed in a hospital gown, his face streaked with tears and his eyes red and puffy. He looked up at Kelly as new tears rolled down his cheeks. The alpha expected shouting and rejection, but instead Matt held out his arms and buried his face in Kelly's neck when the alpha hugged him tight.

"What's going on, baby, are you okay ... ?"

There was a dreadful silence as Matt simply cried on his shoulder, and then dropped a bombshell on him...

" ... We lost one"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured we could have a Kelly POV this time, see what's going on inside his sometimes dumb alpha head.  
> Let me know if you would be interested in a Matt POV of the same week ! I was probably thinking of doing it anyway, to shed a light on what exactly happened while Kelly was gone, but if you guys don't really care about it I would just continue on with the story :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The people have spoken !  
> Here's Matt's POV of the week Kelly was gone :)

*One week earlier*

Matt was honestly terrified. He didn't like that look on Kelly's face, didn't like that scent on him, knew it was bad news. He was scared Kelly would do something terrible he'd then regret, it wouldn't be the first time and Matt knew him well enough to have a good idea of what would be next : drinking, reckless behavior and maybe finding himself someone to spend the night with. Of course that part bothered him, but he also knew there would be no feelings involved and that person would only be a mean to an end ... a body to lose himself with and forget for a while. Those thoughts hurt, but Matt knew deep down he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't change the man's ways just like that, with a snap of his fingers.

He almost said something. Almost asked him to wait, the words almost on his lips but getting stuck in his throat and he thought better of it, afraid it might only push Kelly further away. He needed to give him time to process everything his own way.

So he let him go. Watched him close the door behind himself, get in his car and drive away without looking back. Waited until he realised the alpha wouldn't turn around, then crumbled to his knees as his heart clenched with fear. Kelly just needed time ... Kelly would come back soon ... _Would he ?_

After a few minutes on his knees, staring blankly at the closed door and barely remembering how to breathe, Matt pushed himself to his feet and forced himself to go on with his day. He couldn't just wait next to the door for Kelly to come back, he had no idea how long that would take and he definitely wouldn't act like the needy omega the alpha might expect to find upon his return. He could handle his own just fine without Kelly for a while. _They_ could. He gently rubbed a hand on the barely-there bump.

"Isn't that right, pups ? Daddy will be gone a while, but we can take care of ourselves in the meantime. Make daddy proud of us. We're strong little warriors. You hungry ? I am " he spoke out loud, his own voice reassuring in the deafening silence of Kelly's apartment.

He forced a smiled to himself and walked to the kitchen to look for something to eat. His stomach had been in knots before the ultrasound so he barely had breakfast, he was now starving. And eating for four, apparently, which explained why he was always so hungry and comforted him with the knowledge that everything was normal with him. He'd become a whale for sure, but with three pups, it was to be expected. Matt hadn't realised what he was cooking, lost in his thoughts, until he put the food on a plate and finally took a look at it. Grilled cheese with bacon. One of the things Kelly loved to make him, and somewhere along the way, it had become comfort food to him. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, he tried to ignore the throbbing in his chest as he sat at the counter island and took a bite. Not as good as Kelly's. He missed the man already.

After his meal, he decided to work a little on the apartment. There was a small dent in a wall that needed fixing, from when Kelly had slammed Matt against it at some point during the heat. The whole moment was a little foggy in Matt's brain but he remembered them laughing and his shoulder throbbing a little the next day. He'd been so horny he couldn't care less about the wall nor his shoulder, and then he never got to fixing it afterwards. Now seemed like a good time and he dropped by his own place to get his stuff before going back to Kelly's. He was used to this and in no time the wall was as new. He even found a bit of leftover paint that was the right color, to cover the spot. By the time he finished, he was hungry again. He was realizing just how often Kelly cooked for him, now that he had to cook everything himself. He ended up making way too much, used to cooking for two by now, and sighed as he put half of it in the fridge.

He missed Kelly.

He'd been gone a long time already, certainly a few hours, and Matt couldn't help but worry. He was convinced he would feel it in his soul if something were to happen to his alpha, but it didn't stop him feeling scared and lonely. On an impulse, he took his phone out of his pocket, typed a short " ** _are you alright ?_** " and anxiously waited for an answer that never came.

"It's okay pups, it's fine. Daddy's going to be fine ... He'll be back soon"

Truth be told, he knew talking to the pups at such an early stage was pointless because they couldn't even hear yet, but it made Matt feel better so he kept doing it. Reassuring them helped reassure him. That night he barely slept, shivering in the cold bed, worried sick. He only calmed down once he made himself a little nest full of Kelly's shirts and buried himself in it, being surrounded by his alpha's scent. It finally relaxed him enough to get a few hours of shut-eye before shift.

When the alarm clock on his cellphone rang in the morning, he already felt exhausted and his day hadn't even started yet. He took a quick shower to wake himself up and had a few pieces of toast for breakfast -one for himself and one for each pup. Before he left for shift, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and his heart skipped a few beats as he looked at the text he'd received.

**_Yes_ **

Way to make him feel better. At least Kelly wasn't dead in a car accident or whatever else could've happened. He was fine but obviously didn't wanna talk to him much, giving him such a short answer. Matt decided he wouldn't ask him when he would be coming back home. He thought maybe the alpha would be at the firehouse for shift, he rarely missed work, but once Matt got there, the squad lieutenant was nowhere to be seen. He eventually learned the alpha had called in sick and when asked about it, he assured them that it was nothing too bad and Kelly would be back on his feet very soon. The words hurt as he said them, and luckily the alarm went off right at this moment and cut the conversation short. Matt was thankful for it, for when they were answering a call, he could focus entirely on the job and put his emotions and worrying thoughts aside for a moment. They had a busy day and Matt barely had time to think about Kelly. Sure, there were moments when he realized his absence, because they usually worked closely together and tried to coordinate their actions, but he didn't get time to dwell on it. When he got back at the firehouse after the last call, he was bone-tired, from a long day and the lack of sleep from the previous night, and took a quick shower before he went to his office and crashed on his bunk.

He was woken up by the alarm and instantly fell into habit, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and jumping into action. His head cleared a little more once in the truck and he gave a gentle pat to his belly, muttering to his pups that they would get some real sleep eventually. If Cruz noticed him talking to himself - _to the pups, there's a nuance_ \- he didn't say anything. They arrived on the scene and started working, doing their best even though most of them were asleep barely a few minutes ago. At some point, Matt started to call "Sev-" but cut himself right away with a sharp pang of pain and sadness in his chest, because Kelly wasn't there. Kelly left. "Clarke ! I got a man crushed under a pillar here" he called out instead, calling Squad over to help rescue the man.

He went home after a 36 hours shift, having agreed to stay longer because he had nothing better to do, work kept him occupied while Kelly was gone and he could barely face the idea of the empty apartment again. Before he left, Chief had called him into his office and given him a pointed look. He didnt need to ask. Matt knew what he wanted to know, and felt he couldn't lie.

"Severide will be away for a while. He's ... processing things. I don't know when he'll be back. I dont know if he will _ever_ be back"

He kept a matter-of-fact tone, refusing to let weakness show. Kelly had only been gone two days and he couldn't start crying in the Chief's office, that just wouldn't do it. He only wished to be dismissed so he could leave before he crumbled in front of everybody. The Chief probably understood that, for he simply nodded and let him go. Matt made sure to keep his pace calm and steady and resisted the urge to run to his car and get the hell out of there. He was home soon enough, a hand automatically going to rest against his stomach as he walked to the couch and slumped on it. He felt empty. He had often been alone, but he'd never felt this kind of loneliness that hurt him down to the core, never missed someone as much as he missed Kelly, as if a part of his soul were missing. He could understand the alpha was scared, he was too. One pup was already scary, but three was madness. He was afraid he wouldn't be a good enough ... mom ? 

He chuckled through the tears that had started to roll down his cheeks, the idea of being the mommy sounding both absurd and pretty accurate. If he bore the pups, then that made him the mother. They would have to figure out some other word for it, because he wouldn't have his pups calling him _mommy_ and Kelly had already embraced the _daddy_ name, so ...

... But then maybe Kelly wouldn't be coming back and the pups would have no daddy. 

A sob escaped Matt's lips and he pressed a fist to them, trying to hold it back but to no avail. He cried like a baby, he cried until there were no tears left and he could only wrap his arms around his belly and gently rock himself back and forth to ease the pain, to soothe himself because Kelly wasn't there to hold him and make it all go away. 

Of course he was scared of the future. He knew it would be difficult to raise three pups all at once and he knew there would be major changes in their lives, but he also knew they could do it if they were together. They could stick together, help each other out and do their best, like any parents would do. It would be hard but beautiful and they would be a happy little family. He was sure of it ... Well, now that Kelly had bailed, he didn't know anymore. He wished the alpha would've stayed and talked to him instead. They could've worked it out somehow, talked about their fears and found solutions. But Kelly was more of an act first, talk later kind of guy ...

He missed him so much.

Matt still wasn't sleeping very well, but he made it through the next days. He would often go to bed in tears and wake up in the middle of the night from horrible nightmares. He tried to pretend that he was fine, but he was not fine at all. He always felt tired and stressed out and on edge, but he still went to work and kept himself busy. He talked to the pups every day and every night, told them their daddy would be back soon even though he believed those words less and less. It still felt good to say them, to hold onto the last sliver of hope, mostly for the pups. He couldn't bear the thought of them not having a father ... but they would have a family. The whole 51 family. Even after all this time, Matt didn't want to let them know what was going on with Kelly and while he'd told Boden the truth, he kept lying to the rest of the house, telling them that Kelly was a little more sick than they'd initially thought but that it wasn't too bad and he would be okay in a while. He kept covering for his alpha out of instinct, still hoping the man would be back so he wouldn't have to tell everyone the truth ... a truth that would destroy him. 

He was walking out of a burning house, holding a scared little kid in his arms and getting him to the ambulance, when he first felt the pain.

It was like a sudden cramp that almost felt like a side stitch. He winced a little but didn't think much of it, thinking he'd maybe pulled a muscle or that his body was feeling the lack of sleep and felt stiff and achy. The pain subsided fast enough and he forgot about it until the next morning. He'd gone to sleep in his nest of shirts that smelled less and less of Kelly now and barely helped him anymore, and was woken up early in the morning by a sudden and sharp pain in his abdomen. His heartbeat quickened because that one felt wrong. Not like a muscular pain and not like anything he'd ever felt before. His hands instantly went to his belly as another wave of cramping came and he squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily through his nose through the cramp, until it subsided. With horror, he thought that maybe that was what contractions felt like and his eyes suddenly shot open as he scrambled out of bed and to the bathroom. Something felt wrong. Not only the pain, but that gut-feeling of absolute dread that brought him on the verge of panic. He sat on the toilet and automatically reached behind himself to wipe at his backside, whimpering as he found a little blood there. 

_Something was wrong_

His first idea was to turn to google to look up his symptoms. Bad move, definitely. After half an hour, he'd established that he had at least three different cancers. Since that obviously made no sense, he decided to go to the clinic to see a nurse, talk about what happened and see if they had any idea what could be wrong. He wasn't allowing himself to panic just yet, trying to get into the mindset he was in when he fought fires. Don't freak out, assess the situation, understand what's going on and act accordingly. Maybe it was all normal ... He didn't really know how pregnancies worked, to be honest. He just wanted to be reassured, so with that idea in mind, he left the apartment without even having any breakfast -he wasn't hungry, anyway. 

"Hold on guys, we'll figure this out" he spoke out loud to the pups as he drove to the clinic, always one hand lingering on his belly, soft and protective.

He had to wait inside a moment, since he didn't have an appointment. He sat in the waiting room and waited, until a new rush of pain made him groan and grasp at his abdomen, worrying the lady at the reception. Barely a minute later, a nurse was calling his name and he stood to follow her. She obviously tried to conceal it, but the look on her face meant nothing good and Matt could feel a slight panic start to rise. Maybe his gut-feeling was right. Something _was_ wrong. 

_**Something's wrong**_ he texted Kelly as he was asked to change into a gown for an emergency ultrasound, because the man had a right to know. They were still his pups and if something was wrong with them, Kelly needed to know. Matt didn't know what to expect from that text, knew deep down that even though he was telling himself all those reasons about Kelly's right to know, this text was a desperate call for help. Thankfully, Kelly answered back almost immediately, asking about the pups. At this point, sensing the distress in his alpha even through text, Matt started to feel the panic rising. His hands were shaking as he typed back a simple **_yes_**. He didn't get time to say more, because he was then asked to lie down on the exam table.

The procedure was repeated, the cold gel on his belly then the ultrasound and Matt could see the screen, though he couldn't understand much of it. He still stared at it with wide eyes, this poor deer-in-headlights look on his face. His mind was racing and he just wanted to scream at the nurse, demand that she told him what the hell was wrong, but he didn't, he held back because the poor girl hadn't done anything ... This wasn't her fault and he had to give her time to properly read what was going on. 

She stopped and cleaned him up a little without saying anything. Once he was back on his feet, she made him sit in a chair next to the exam table and Matt knew something was very wrong. You ask people to sit down when you're about to give them terrible news that will break them down into pieces. He sat reluctantly, his eyes already filling with tears. Hs instincts weren't wrong and he felt like he knew, even before she could tell him. He'd lost one.

For a long while, he cried in silence, face buried in his hands. The nurse exited the room and gave him a moment alone to cry it out, breathe and collect himself, then came back when he felt like he was a little more ready to hear the rest. He wished Kelly were here, he'd never needed anyone as much as he needed his alpha right now, and the simple fact that he wasn't there made everything a thousand times worse. He sat there as the nurse told him the miscarriage of one of the babies could maybe be due to excessive stress, among other reasons, but that one was the one Matt really focused on. It made so much sense, he'd been under severe stress these past few days and with Kelly gone, that surely couldn't be good for him nor for the pups. They needed their daddy. He needed Kelly ... He burst into tears a second time. He was crying but still in shock, not even sure anything about it was real anymore. He couldn't seriously have lost a pup. It was as if it was all a misunderstanding and things would be just fine in the morning. His brain was trying very hard to deny it.

They decided to keep him at the clinic for a few days to monitor the other babies and make sure everything was alright with them. They'd seemed strong during the ultrasound, but since Matt was almost entering the second trimester of the pregnancy, the risks were a little higher for the other pups. He was given a room and he lay down on the bed, waiting for the nurses to hook him up to various machines that would monitor him and the pups. He felt exhausted and confused and he craddled his belly as he cried himself to sleep, or maybe he just passed out from exhaustion. He woke up a while later to a gentle knock on his door and a nurse peeked inside to ask him if he was okay with having a visitor. He knew he was crying again, he felt like he hadn't really stopped since he'd gotten the news and he had no control over it, but he softly agreed and then his heart almost stopped as Kelly walked into the room.

The fucking asshole.

He loved him so much.

Kelly looked worried and devastated by the sight of him in such a state and Matt couldn't help but hold out his arms, reach out for the man and cuddle up against him as the alpha held him in a strong, comforting embrace. He buried his face in his neck, breathing in his scent and clinging to his shirt with both hands, as if to prevent him for pulling back, from walking away again. He sobbed like a baby in his alpha's arms and Kelly held him tight and pet his hair, until Matt had the courage to pull his head back a little, look the man in the eyes and murmur the terrible words. He knew saying it out loud would make it real ... but he had to.

" ... We lost one"


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have final exams that keep my busy and don't leave me as much time to write as I'd like, which sucks cause I really enjoy writing these two ... So anyway, updates will be less frequent for a moment, but then I should be back to updating pretty regularly ! :)

They didn't talk about the previous week.

Matt stayed at the clinic for a week, hooked up to machines, with Kelly by his bedside at all times. He would be there when Matt fell asleep and also be there when he woke up. They didn't speak much, but they didn't need to right now. Matt was catching up on some much needed sleep and took many naps during the day, most of them involuntary, where he would just fall sleep in Kelly's face and leave the alpha speaking to himself until he realized and stopped talking. They talked about mundane stuff, avoiding the important talk to discuss hockey instead, how the Hawks had lost their last game and what a shame it was, or even talk about the weather, anything that wasn't that horrible week.

They scented each other a lot. At first, Kelly had kept his hands to himself, giving Matt some space and some time to figure out if he hated his face of not. He felt like he didn't have the right to act as if nothing had happened, but Matt never said anything to make him feel bad. The first night, he had a nightmare and Kelly -who had been allowed to stay, they barely ever saw alphas in here with their omegas and didn't dare kick him out, the sight too precious to ruin- had taken upon himself to comfort him. He'd wrapped his arm around Matt's body and buried the blonde's face in his neck. Matt had eventually sighed softly, nuzzled his skin and slept more peacefully after that.

The next day, they often rubbed theirs heads together, against each other's necks and scent glands, marking each other and feeling good about their own scent on the other and the other's scent on them. It felt right, it felt like they belonged and Matt could slowly feel the tension drain from his shoulders and back. They cried together multiple times. Mourned their lost pup, both Matt and Kelly blaming themselves without speaking it out loud. Matt felt horrible for what happened. It was within his own body and he felt weak and useless for letting it happen. He kept telling himself he could've prevented it if only he'd been stronger, if he'd been able to handle the stress better, if he'd acted like the strong independent omega he thought he was. Kelly, on the other hand, was blaming himself even more, for he knew the whole situation was his fault. He'd left Matt all alone, which had caused such a stressful situation that Matt had no control over. The omega did his best in the circumstances, but Kelly's absence had taken a toll on him and on the pups and they were still so fragile one of them didn't make it. Because their daddy was gone. He'd failed both Matt and the pups and he knew he was the only one to blame.

Of course, they didn't talk about it. As usual, they were the masters at keeping their emotions bottled up and the champions at avoiding important conversations.

Matt was released from the clinic after a week. The two pups were healthy and growing stronger everyday and the nurses and doctor didn't fear for them, though they recommended that Matt avoided unnecessary stress. If Matt shot a look at Kelly at that, the alpha pointedly ignored it and assured the doctor he would be taking good care of Matt. 

_Right. Bitch._

So Matt was in a mood, as Kelly drove them back to his place. They had avoided the suject all week and the omega didn't reject his alpha, but that didn't mean he'd forgotten or even forgiven. He didn't talk to Kelly the whole ride to the apartment and once they got there, he simply stated that he was going to shower to get rid of the hospital smell. Kelly let him go, but then thought better of it and followed him to the bathroom. Matt was already in the shower when the door opened and a naked body pressed itself against his. He felt strong but gentle arms wrap around his waist and he didn't fight them, leaning back against Kelly and closing his eyes. Part of him wanted to snap, to scream, to punch, but he felt emotionnally drained and the relief going through his mind and body at the fact of finally having Kelly back home overpowered the rest. Before he could realize what was happening, he was sobbing again, softly and in silence, his back to Kelly and his face in the spray so the alpha couldn't see. 

But Kelly could _feel_ it.

He reached for the liquid shampoo bottle and squeezed some into his palm, then slowly started to massage the shampoo into Matt's blonde hair. His touch was gentle and soothing, rubbing at Matt's scalp with his fingers and running them through his soft hair. Matt's body relaxed against Kelly's and the crying slowly stopped, but the omega sighed and leaned into the touch a little more, not pulling back from the attention. Kelly kept massaging his hair for a moment, then gently guided Matt's head under the spray so he could rinse the shampoo off. He never let go of Matt, pulled the omega back against him once he was done with rinsing. Feeling the moment was right, the alpha pressed a soft kiss to Matt's neck, right over his scent gland. 

"Im sorry ... "

Matt's body tensed instantly.

"I don't wanna talk about it"

"But Matty ... "

" _I said_ I don't wanna talk about it, what don't you understand ?"

Kelly bit his lip to refrain himself from insisting again. Matt wasn't ready to have the talk and Kelly could wait as long as the omega needed. They would have to adress it at some point, Kelly would have to properly apologize and it would be part of the mourning and help them move on ... but if he'd learned something over the past months, it was to never press the issue when Matt got stubborn like this. He would eventually come around and they would talk, but he had to give him time to process everything on his own first. 

He focused on washing Matt's body, running his soapy hands on the man's skin and relishing the feel of it under his fingers. Matt was both soft and strong, solid under his hands, muscular under soft skin and Kelly couldn't get enough of him. He buried his nose in the omega's neck, breathing him in, leaving a trail of kisses from behind his ear to the base of his neck, nibbling on his scent gland and smiling against his skin as the omega let out a soft sigh. Kelly slowly made his way down the man's body, crouching to rub soap on his legs, hands lingering a moment on Matt's thighs before he got back up again. He could feel himself growning hard and he pressed himself against Matt, moaning softly when Matt circled his hips back against him, rubbing against Kelly's growning erection. The alpha tightened his grip on the omega's hips, only to have Matt pull away and shake himself from his embrace.

"Not tonight Kel" 

"What ?" 

Matt slowly turned around to face him, his blue eyes dark with what Kelly hoped was lust. 

"You don't get to knot me tonight"

Kelly didn't know what to reply to that. Sure, he kind of deserved the punishment. He'd been a bad alpha and he'd run away and they had lost a pup because of him. He didn't deserve Matt and he had no right to argue. He was now fully realizing how bad things were between Matt and him and how hard he would have to work to get them back to normal. He wanted to apologize and get out of the shower but Matt wasn't about to let him go that easily. He shoved Kelly back against the shower wall, crowding him and pressing his mouth to his. They kissed hot and messy, burning passion meeting urgent need and Matt was biting at Kelly's lips, their tongues fighting for dominance. Matt's hands were grabbing at the alpha's hair and pulling, pulling until Kelly hissed with pain, until Matt had him exactly where he wanted him. He was achingly hard himself, seeing his alpha flushed and his lips bruised from Matt's devotion on them. When Kelly tried to growl at him warningly, Matt felt himself go a little weak in the knees and it only added to his desire, pushing Kelly back a little harder and stealing his mouth in yet another rough kiss. Thrusting his hips up, he rubbed his leaking erection against the alpha's thigh and moaned into the kiss, desperately seeking a little more friction. Kelly made to grab his hips, but Matt tugged his hair again in warning, smiling at the noise it got him from Kelly. Not so in control anymore, uh ?

Matthew Casey was an omega, but not _any_ omega. 

He turned the water off and got out of the shower, pulling Kelly out with him. As sexy as shower sex may sound, it is very impractical and for having tried a few times, they'd found out it could soon get almost dangerous when your legs started giving up on you and the shower wall was so slippery you could hardly find purchase against it. 

Kelly seemed to think they were done, hanging back his towel on the rack and walking out of the bathroom. If Matt didn't want it, he certainly couldn't force him. The omega had his little fun in the shower and Kelly had let him, but he didn't think Matt would push further and was taken aback when he suddenly felt strong hands grab his shoulders and guide him to the bedroom. Maybe Matt had changed his mind ... Kelly was all up for that. They fell on the bed and Kelly took matters into hands, crawling on top of Matt and straddling his hips, bowing down to kiss him and grinding their erections together, trapped between their bodies. Matt let out a soft moan and threw his head back, exposing his neck for Kelly to lick and bite, sucking a love bite on the soft skin just over the blonde's collarbone. He slowly kissed his way down Matt's body, circling a nipple with this tongue, gently biting it and smiling at the shudder that went through Matt. His nipples were so sensitive and Kelly absolutely loved that. He lavished the nipples with attention, licking and sucking and biting until Matt was a writhing mess, his cock leaking copious amounts of precum all over his stomach. 

Suddenly, things took a different turn. Kelly was sure he had won the man over, sure they were now good and Matt would take the knot and they wouldn't be perfectly okay but it would bring them closer together. He couldn't have been more wrong. Omegas are often portrayed as soft and small and weak, but Matt wasn't anything like that. Matt was tall, almost as much as him, and their built was actually pretty similar. Matt had nothing to envy the alphas in terms of physical appearance and character, the only disavantage he had being the omega biology and instincts that sometimes surfaced. Kelly should've known having such a strong-willed, stubborn and independant omega could backfire, but those qualities were among his favorite things about Matt and he wouldn't change him for the world. What he hadn't expected, however, was for Matt to do what he did next.

The omega suddenly hooked his legs around Kelly's waist and used the leverage to roll them over and find himself on top of the alpha who simply smirked, thinking his beautiful omega was going to ride. He had no idea what awaited him. Matt claimed his lips in a bruising kiss, licking inside his mouth and burying his hands in Kelly's hair again. It wasn't very long but plenty enough to tug at and Matt absolutely loved it, enjoyed the little noises it elicited from the alpha, a mix between arousal and pain, desire and annoyance. Matt trailed his mouth along Kelly's jaw, enjoying the feel of his stubble against his skin. Kelly groaned softly and jerked his hips up, as if trying to let him know he was done with foreplay and wanted action, making Matt moan as their cocks rubbed together in the most delicious way. 

"Come on baby ... " Kelly grunted, voice husky with arousal.

Matt only smiled at him and pulled back to reach for the bedside table and fumble in the drawers for a condom and most importantly for lube. Finding what he was looking for, he returned to his place between Kelly's legs, opening the little bottle of lube and squirting some on his fingers. He could feel Kelly's hungry eyes staring at him and he smirked as he ran his lubed up fingers from the tip of he alpha's cock to the base, brushed past his balls and down to a tight ring of muscles that hadn't been explored before. Matt honestly had no idea if Kelly had been fucked before. It wouldn't really surprise him of the man, he surely had a lot of past experiences and he was bound to have tried a lot of different things ... but Kelly was also an alpha and alphas very rarely were bottoms. Matt figured he was about to find out, and he slowly eased the tip of a finger inside. Kelly's eyes instantly widened as he gasped with surprise and tried to sit up. Matt pushed him back on the bed, holding him there with a hand on his chest as he kept working him open.

"What the fuck are you doing Matty " the alpha asked in a breathy voice, a frown on his face. He winced as Matt added a second finger inside and scissored them.

"Just relax, baby ... " Matt used the nickname back against him, smirking as Kelly rolled his eyes and tried to move his hips away from the intrusion. Softly stroking the alpha's thigh, he tried to get him to relax enough so he wouldn't clench around his fingers so much and hurt himself more than necessary. Despite the visible discomfort and Kelly's reluctance, Matt noticed the alpha was still hard. It still was a difficult process, Kelly was fighting him and his instincts were wildly kicking in. Seeing that Matt wouldn't let this go, he suddenly growled loudly at him, glaring at the blonde with all of his alpha dominance. Matt bit his lip and desperately held back a whimper, closing his eyes a few seconds to regain composure and resume the movement of his fingers inside Kelly.

"I promise you this is gonna be good"

Kelly only growled again.

"I'll take good care of you. Do you trust me, Kelly ? " The alpha frowned as he looked at Matt, never breaking eye contact and simply holding his gaze for a minute until he nodded. 

"Of course I trust you, Matty" 

"Then let me do this" 

Kelly took a deep breath and lay back down on the bed, stretching a little and spreading his legs a bit more so he could find a more comfortable position. Matt softly ran a hand on Kelly's stomach as he tried to push in a little deeper, stretch Kelly a bit more until his fingers found what they were looking for and firmly pressed against the bundle of nerves deep down. Kelly arched his back, gasping at the sudden sensation, and Matt didn't let him come down from his little shock, pressing his fingers against it again. This time, a moan escaped the alpha's lips. Matt finger-fucked him a moment, letting Kelly adjust and find his own little pleasure in the feeling of it, all the while palming his own aching erection. When he was convinced it would be enough, he pulled his fingers out and rolled on the condom onto himself, adding a little more lube for good mesure before lining up with Kelly and slowly pushing in. Matt was an omega, but he wasn't small, and even though Matt knew Kelly was definitely bigger, the alpha seemed to find Matt was plenty enough, even almost too big. He winced until Matt bottomed out and then let out a shaky breath. 

"For fuck's sake Matt ... " 

The omega chuckled and slowly pulled back, taking it easy to let the alpha adjust. He didn't dare slam back in, he knew he was already pushing his luck and the last thing he wanted was to hurt Kelly and have him snap at him and lose his temper. He kept the pace slow and steady, pushing in and pulling out, wishing so badly that Kelly would eventually be ready for more, because Matt wouldn't hold long like that. Kelly was so tight around him as he pushed in the deep heat of his body, and the mere idea of being inside his alpha was almost enough to push him over the edge. _Come on... Come on!!_ Finally, _finally_ , Kelly rolled his hips a little, trying to push back against Matt.

"Harder, baby" 

Matt didn't need to be asked twice. He thrust his hips faster, hitting the man's prostate with every thrust and moaning as Kelly gasped and groaned and arched into him. Matt couldn't resist kissing him, swallowing Kelly's moan as the change in angle pushed him deeper in. Brushing his fingers over the alpha's sweaty forehead, he buried them in his hair and tug at it as he fucked into him harder and faster. He was getting close and he knew Kelly must be too, because he was now moaning Matt's name over and over again, head thrown back against the bed and back slightly arched. Matt couldn't stop staring at the beautiful curve of his exposed throat, glistening with a fine sheen of sweat, and on an impulse, he reached to loosely wrap a hand around it. The alpha made a sound, half-moan half-growl, that Matt could feel vibrate under his palm. It was so incredibly sexy. Matt felt so good, powerful and in control and he wondered if Kelly felt that way every time he fucked him. Seeing his alpha coming undone under him was the most beautiful thing Matt had ever seen and with one last trust he was coming, crying out Kelly's name. His mind was going fuzzy but he still thought of reaching for Kelly's cock and help finish him. He didn't have much to do, a few strokes and the alpha was coming with Matt's name on his lips, coating both their torsos with a copious amount of come. 

Matt's body went a little limp and he shifted a little so Kelly wouldn't have to support all his bodyweight. Laying on the bed next to him, their legs tangled together and Matt's head resting on Kelly's shoulder, they both took a moment to come down from their orgasms. They badly needed another shower, but neither of them could be bothered at the moment. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Matt broke it with a small "Im sorry I lost our pup" 

He felt Kelly's fingers gently brush up and down his spine.

"No. That wasn't your fault. Don't you dare blame it on yourself" His voice was soft but firm. "Im sorry I left, Matty ... I _am_ very excited that we're having pups, but three ... I was so scared, I panicked. I shouldn't have left, I should've talked to you about it and we would've figured it out ... It's all my fault and Im so sorry" 

Matt didn't reply. Kelly knew there was nothing to say to that, nothing to argue. Matt couldn't pretend it wasn't the alpha's fault, couldn't say it was okay because it wasn't. He had no excuse, he'd only been a coward. But Matt was Matt and he pressed his lips against Kelly's jaw, kissing him sotfly.

"If you'd known the risks and what would happen ... I know you wouldn't have left. You wouldn't have risked our pups' life on purpose. I know that, Kel" 

The alpha swallowed with difficulty around the sudden lump in his throat. "Never. I never meant for this to happen, Im so sorry ... " 

"It's okay ... " Matt's voice broke a little, and fuck, they were both going to cry again. "We'll be okay ... Maybe not right now, maybe not tomorrow, but we will. And we'll have two beautiful little pups who are gonna need their daddy" 

"I'm staying, Matty. For better or for worse. Im not going anywhere anymore, I promise"

Silence fell between them again. Kelly moved a little so he could wrap his arms around Matt and hold him close, resting his head against the omega's. He knew that little talk didn't mean everything would suddenly be back to normal right away. They would still need time to process everything properly and move past everything that happened... but they were on the right path. 

"I love you, Kelly"

"I love you too, Matt"


	14. Chapter 14

_**24 weeks**_

One morning, Matt was woken up from his light sleep by a strange feeling in his abdomen. He frowned slightly at first, the sensation going as fast as it came. He definitely wasn't worried this time, he'd experienced the pain that came with complications in pregnancy and this felt nothing like it. When nothing happened again, he figured he had dreamed it. He stretched lazily and closed his eyes again, trying to go back to sleep, only to be disturbed again by the new feeling in his belly. It felt like a flutter, like gas bubbles maybe ... He couldn't quite explain it, but as he ran a soft hand over his now much bigger bump, he realized what it meant.

Eyes still closed, he groped around blindly for Kelly, finding his arm and running his fingers down to his hand, which he took in his and then placed on his belly. Kelly stirred from his sleep, blinking sleepily at Matt who cracked his eyes open to look at him. Seeing the cute but confused smile on his alpha's face, he held up a finger as if asking him to wait for it, hoping the sensation would happen again.

Then it did, and the wide excited smile that spread on Kelly's lips was worth more than anything in the world.

"Hey there babies ... " Kelly rasped in a voice husky with sleep, moving closer to lay a kiss on Matt's bump. The words earned him a new kick and Matt chuckled with delight as his alpha looked up at him with wide eyes and such sincere happiness. 

There were a few other kicks for a few minutes, always on the same side, making Matt believe one baby was being quiet while the other was trying to break his ribs. He only had 24 weeks done and couldn't imagine the pain that little one would give him as it would grow stronger, bigger and kick harder. Kelly was sprawled over him, head softly resting on the bump and his arms loosely wrapped around it, chuckling as he felt the kicks against his face.

They'd decided not to ask for the pups' genders, wanting to have the surprise when Matt would give birth. That didn't stop them from making predictions. When Matt had asked Kelly what he hoped the pups were, he'd expected Kelly to want boys. Strong alpha and dominance, he thought that would only be fitting, but Kelly had surprised him with a smile and a "I hope you'll make me at least one little princess" that had Matt smiling like an idiot. The thought of Kelly Severide sitting on the living room floor, head full of colorful hair clips and playing tea party with their baby girl was the most adorable thing in the world and Matt wanted that very much. He himself didn't really have a preference, he already loved both the little pups with all his heart no matter their gender ... or sub gender. 

Kelly suddenly straightned up and braced himself on one elbow, looking at Matt with a smile.

"Here's my new guess. This one ... " he placed his hand on the right side of Matt's belly "is a little boy, probably alpha from the energy in the kicks. Then this one ... " and he moved his hand to the left side "is daddy's little girl. Soft and quiet little omega, but with his mommy's stubborness. She's not kicking cause she thinks it's dumb and pointless and she's judging her brother for it" 

Matt started laughing and Kelly smiled brightly at him, happy that he'd gotten that kind of reaction from the omega. He loved making Matt laugh, loved the way the tension eased from his body and his eyes shone brightly with laughter and happiness. Matt was gorgeous all the time, but he was even more so when he looked happy. 

"That's so stereotypical" Matt finally managed to say and Kelly shrugged with a laugh.

The alpha got up and stretched, smirking as he caught Matt staring.

"See something you like ?"

Matt rolled his eyes with a smile and Kelly laughed. They were good, they were happy and Kelly was very glad things were better between them now. It took them a few weeks to find their rythm back and for things to go back to normal, but the trust was back between them and Kelly worked very hard to prove to Matt that he would be a great dad to the pups and a great mate to him. 

When Matt had started to talk about making a room for the pups, Kelly had jumped on the occasion. They had a spare room they didn't really use in the apartment and Kelly had started to empty that room and clean it very thoroughly. The bright smile on Matt's face when he'd noticed had been worth every drop of sweat on Kelly's forehead and the ache in his muscles after a hard day's work on the room.

"Breakfast ? I was thinking I could start painting the pups' room today, we could go buy some paint"

"Mmmh a soft green maybe ... " 

"As you wish, baby"

Kelly cooked them breakfast and Matt joined him in the kitchen after a quick shower. Now that the morning sickness was gone, being pregnant wasn't so bad and even though he sometimes had mood swings that he blamed on hormones, everything was good. Kelly had learned to deal with him and figure out by scent when he was in a mood. He was getting really good at reading Matt and had found a solution that worked almost every time. He would firmly hold Matt against him with the omega's face in his neck and the scent combined with a low rumble similar to a purr would get him to calm down, avoiding a lot of shouting and saying things they would both regret. Then Matt would feel bad about it, and Kelly would tell him that with two babies growing inside of him, he had reasons to be a little on edge sometimes. Matt still felt really good most of the time, which was definitely an improvement. 

"Do I really have to come with you ? I'll look like an idiot in sweatpants, all fat in my hoodie" Matt muttered as he sat across Kelly at the table, grabbing a slice of bacon from his plate and biting into it.

Kelly chuckled at that, because very few clothes still fit his omega and he found it adorable.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. You're pregnant with twins, I'd be concerned if you weren't fat"

"But people don't know that"

"I'll talk about the pups all the time, then. They'll get the message"

Matt gave him a small smile that meant he was fine with this solution. He was becoming a little self-conscious now that he'd officially gained 24 pounds and that the bump was a lot more obvious, because pregnancies in males weren't exactly common among the population and people could probably easily mistake it for him being just fat and lazy, which he didn't want. He was quite the opposite actually, he was a firefighter and he kept in shape, and even though Kelly kept telling him that people's opinion didn't matter, it sort of bothered Matt. 

"You have to come with me anyway. You need to choose the color" Kelly added and Matt's smile brightened.

"Soft green. Something calming. Shrimp's gonna be an energetic one for sure, in a few weeks it'll be doing chin-ups on my collarbone" he said as the baby on the right, the one they affectionately called Shrimp thanks to Kelly, gave another kick to make its presence known. Kelly burst out laughing and Matt soon joined him until they both were holding their poor ribs and gasping for breath. 

They ate their breakfast with a smile that simply wouldn't leave their faces, looking at each other over their coffee mugs and touching feet - _playfully kicking each other_ \- under the table. Once they were done, they got dressed and ready to leave. Matt knew he would soon have to leave work and stay home. He couldn't work forever with that belly in the way and soon he wouldn't even be able to keep up with the physical aspect of the job. He could already feel the effects of the added weight on his body, getting backpains and sometimes feeling like his ankles wanted to give out from under him. Still, he wasn't ready to leave the job behind just yet and be stuck home ... except home also felt cozy and safe and a part of him, stronger everyday, just wanted to nestle in a bunch of Kelly's shirts and never have to move again. Even now as they walked out the door, he gave a very small whine and Kelly chuckled. 

"We'll be back in no time, baby"

They walked into Home Depot, holding hands and standing close. Kelly had a tendency to act possessive when they were out in public and he made sure everyone knew Matt was his and was having his pups. It was both charming and a little annoying, because he would sometimes stand so close Matt had to keep nudging him out of the way to access what he wanted to look at. They made their way to the paint aisle and Matt got to searching the perfect color. Kelly was looking intently at the paint chip cards, but Matt knew he was mostly pretending to be interested and didn't give a damn what color the room would be. He trusted Matt on this and really meant it when he said he would let him choose. It maybe was a mom thing, or maybe even an omega thing, to give importance to such things as finding the right color for a baby's room, but his alpha still took the intiative to bring him here and it showed he cared in his own way. 

"So ... No blue and no pink, cause we don't wanna be the kind of parent that encourages gender stereotypes"

Kelly looked up with a smile, nodding his approval. Over Matt's shoulder, he could see a girl smiling as she obviously overheard Matt talking. She looked harmless and soft and gentle and Kelly didn't mind her getting a little closer. Matt was safe. Pups were safe. That lady was good. She didn't smell anything in particular, definitely not alpha, possibly omega with scent suppressants or maybe only human.

"You talked about green ... How about this one ?" the alpha asked, pointing a color. 

"Nah, too foresty ... although honestly, if your scent were a color, it would definitely be that one"

"So you don't like my scent's color. Great, thanks baby" Kelly chuckled as Matt rolled his eyes at him.

"I love it. Just not for the pup's room"

Matt kept looking while Kelly just stood there waiting, not letting him get too far without stalking behind him to keep in close proximity. The soft-looking lady was now much closer and she smiled as Matt suddenly met her eyes. He immediately smiled back, a soft "Hey ... " escaping his lips before he could help it. 

"Hey ... You're looking for a color ?" Smooth of her to pretend she hadn't been listening in. 

"Yes, yes actually ... for the babies' room"

"How far along are you ?" She smiled, genuinely interested. Kelly sighed and placed both hands behind his head, stretching his back and turning to wander along the aisle a little, confident that Matt was in good hands with that lady and not really wanting to engage in mom chat. 

"Six months. We don't know the genders and we're looking for a neutral color. I was thinking green" Matt had no idea what compelled him to talk so much to this stranger. Maybe, deep down, he felt like she accepted him as he were, with absolutely no judgement and the same curious excitement a mom would have towards another mom. She didn't seem to mind that he was a pregnant man. She genuinely seemed like a good person.

"My husband and I chose this green for our first baby's room" and she handed him a paint chip card, pointing to a light, soft and earthy green. Matt smiled as he took the card to have a closer look. The green was very pretty and the earthy tones reminded him of undertones of Kelly's scent. 

"Its perfect ... " he mused softly and the lady smiled, visibly happy that he loved it. "Kelly ? Kel ?" Matt glanced over his shoulder, looking for his alpha who came closer when he heard his name.

"Mmh ?"

"I found our color. It's a soft version of your scent" 

Kelly couldn't help but smile brightly and plant a kiss on Matt's hair, making the blonde laugh and blush slightly. The omega then seemed to remember something and he turned to the very nice lady he had been talking to.

"Im sorry, thanks for your help, the color is lovely"

"Im glad you found what you were looking for. Take care of yourself and of those lovely babies"

They promised they would and after wishing her a good day, Kelly grabbed the paint buckets and they proceeded to checkout.

"So, you had your nice little mom social time" the alpha teased with a smile, making Matt groan. He didn't bother with a reply and paid for the paint, letting Kelly do the hard work and bring the buckets back to the car. 

Once they were back at the apartment, Kelly changed into an old pair of pants and a tank top and got to work. He covered the floor with an old drop cloth and then started by masking the room. Matt stood in the doorframe and watched him work with a smile, seeing how meticulous he was being about it, making sure the tape was neatly in place. Then, as he opened the first bucking of paint and was about to start painting, Matt walked into the room to give him a hand. He didn't even have time to do anything before Kelly was standing in from of him, preventing him from reaching the tools.

"Nu-uh. You go sit down and relax, I got this"

"But I can help"

"Matt, _no._ " That was the commanding alpha voice right there and Matt blinked at him, raising both hands in the air in surrender and backing out of the room. One hand going to his belly, he gave it a gentle rub.

"You hear that pups ? Daddy's being _bossy_ " He looked up and smiled to let Kelly know he wasn't mad, and the alpha answered with a smile of his own.

"You know I just don't want you exhausting yourself, right ? You're pregnant, you should take it easy, I'll do a good job here don't worry about it"

"Im not worried. I'll come check on you once in a while anyway, make sure you're not messing up" Matt teased and he went to sit in the living room, letting Kelly handle things. 

He settled down in front of a movie, giving Kelly some peace and quiet for nearly two hours. Once the movie was over and he was getting a little bored of being on his own, he went to stand in the doorframe of the pups' room again, smiling as he noticed Kelly had done quite a good job so far. He was working efficiently, but Matt couldn't help but tease him a little.

"You missed a spot right there. In the corner. Fix it"

Kelly turned to give him a look and Matt noticed he had some paint on his forehead. Cute dummy. 

"Who's bossy now ?" Kelly raised an eyebrow at him and Matt laughed. He let Kelly look for the missed spot for a minute, amused at his rising annoyance. "I don't see it" 

"Im kidding, there's no missed spot. You did a very good job" 

"You think you're funny, omega?" Kelly's eyes glint with mischief as he set everything down and wiped his hands on his pants. He walked towards Matt as the blonde's laughter became a small giggle and suddenly grabbed him by the waist, pulling him close with a smirk and leaning down for a kiss. "Mmmh all the things I could do to you ... " 

"Kelly, Im fat" 

"Hum, you're still very sexy" and with that he grabbed the omega's ass and gave it a squeeze, laughing when Matt gave a little squeak. "I would fuck you against that wall until you chant my name"

Matt could feel himself going a little weak in the knees and heat was starting to build in the pit of his stomach. The blue of Kelly's eyes was mesmerizing and he found he couldn't look away. He tried to shrug it off with a laugh.

"If you poke Shrimp, he'll retaliate"

Kelly only hummed softly and nuzzled Matt's neck, playfully nibbling on his scent gland and roaming his hands over Matt's back. Feeling like he wouldn't be able to stop him if he waited any longer, Matt pulled on Kelly's hair to bring his head up for a kiss, before pulling back with a smile, both hands on the alpha's torso to push him back a little. 

"Get back to work" 

"Yes Sir ! "

_**32 weeks** _

Matt groaned at the sudden sharp jab in his ribs. Kelly looked up at him with a slight frown.

"You okay?"

"Yeah ... Just more kicking" the blonde winced, rubbing soothingly at his belly. Kelly stood from where he was sitting on the couch and came to kneel in front of Matt, placing his hands on either side of his now pretty big bump. He rest his head on Matt's belly and started to purr softly at the pups, the deep and low rumble coming from their daddy always very effective in calming the pups down. Baby on the right was trying to break Matt's ribs these days, while baby on the left gave a few kicks now and then but with much less force and purpose into it, and usually tend to move more in reaction to Kelly's voice. Matt breathed with relief as the kicking eased and the pups settled down. He ran a soft hand through Kelly's hair, closing his eyes and relishing the feeling of his alpha so close, their little family cuddling close together for a little moment of peace and quiet. "Thanks ... "

Matt couldn't be happier. He thought having to leave work when he reached the third trimester of his pregnancy would be difficult, but his instincts were kicking in and he loved staying home more and more, nestled in their bed or on the couch with a cosy blanket, often wearing Kelly's hoodies for the comfort of the scent. Kelly still went to work but would call him at lunch time if he wasn't on a call and it made Matt happy. 

Kelly also wouldn't stop touching him. Matt felt fatter than ever and absolutely not sexy, but the alpha seemed to think otherwise. Matt was at first reluctant to have sex, thinking maybe it would hurt the babies or something, but Kelly had done his research. Google said it was fine, so with no fear to harm the pups with his prowess, he took to convincing Matt he still wanted him, huge belly full of pups or not. It took a while, but Matt eventually gave in. They struggled a little to find a position that worked for both of them and especially that was comfortable for Matt. They found that spooning was best and their sex life became very active, even more so than before the pregnancy if anything. Matt suspected Kelly was trying to make the most of it before the pups were born and they would have very little time for it, or be way too exhausted to even feel like it. No matter the reason, Kelly made Matt feel pretty and loved with his extra 32 pounds and the omega smiled at the thought, making Kelly chuckle and bringing the blond back down to earth. 

"What are you thinking about ?" the alpha asked with a smile.

"About how much I love you" 

"Awwww"

Matt was in no position to elbow him, otherwise he would've. Kelly laughed and sat beside him, leaning in to give him a kiss. "Love you too, baby"

The alpha was off shift today and they had decided to spend the day binge-watching a TV show about firefighters to laugh at their drama and shake their heads at the sometimes lack of accuracy. Matt had laughed at the huge beard one of the characters was sporting, because honestly, they'd clearly chosen looks over accuracy there. Facial hair had to be strictly minimal to allow a tight seal of the SCBA mask they had to wear. 

"There's no way that guy's breathing. There's no way that guy's not dying from massive smoke inhalation right now"

"Beauty of fiction, Matty. You wouldn't like me in a big manly beard ?" 

Matt smiled and shrugged. "Of course I would. But I wouldn't like you dead, dummy. Wait until you retire"

"I'll never retire" 

They both laughed, picturing a very old Kelly struggling to put on the turnout gear and holding a saw with his arms shaking with effort under the weight of it. Kelly moved a little so he could lean a little more against Matt, resting his head on the omega's shoulder and letting a hand wander to rest on the blonde's thigh. They kept watching the show, with occasional laughs or comments.

"That guy reminds me of you" Matt said spontaneously when a specific character appeared on the screen.

" ... But he's kind of a whore"

"Exactly" 

" ... Point taken"

Matt's face suddenly changed at the unexpected cramping sensation in the front of his abdomen. Kelly tensed at that. He was always very aware of Matt's every reaction, very in tune with his omega and ready to take care of any problem that could occur. 

"You okay ?"

"Yeah ... They're only fake contractions or something, I've been having a few of them recently ... They come sporadically, a nice old lady at the grocery store the other day told me it's my body preparing itself for labor"

"Why did she even talk to you about that ?" Kelly asked, eyebrows raised.

"I squeezed a tomato a little hard, the contraction took me by surprise. She obviously noticed"

"Man ... Being pregnant sucks. I mean, you're doing it beautifully, but Im so glad it's not me" 

Matt snorted and accepted the kiss that Kelly gave him in apology. They kissed like that a few minutes, the tv show completely forgotten. Matt ran a hand through Kelly's hair and slowly massaged the back of his head as they kissed slowly and deeply, taking their time to enjoy the moment and cherish it. Matt truly couldn't believe the wonderful twist his life had taken almost eight months ago, when he'd run out of scent suppressants and thought nothing would come out of it. Kelly had been kind of a friend at the time, but they weren't exactly close and the omega had never thought about him this way. To be fair, he thought the alpha was kind of a dick and a little presumptuous on top of that. Being here now with Kelly, kissing him and feeling him and loving him and carrying his pups, it seemed almost surreal at times. Kelly was the most loving and caring person he knew. Sure, he had made mistakes in the past, but he had more than made up for them. For so many months now, he had proven to be the best possible mate to have pups with. He loved the little things, talked to them often and used up most of his free time off shift to prepare the perfect room for them. Kelly never complained about Matt's mood swings, never made the omega feel like he was getting on his nerves, even though he might have at some point. Things weren't always sunshine and rainbows and they had their little fights, but in the end, they always fixed things. 

Matt made sure to never take him for granted. He knew too well that many omegas were abandoned by their alphas, having mated by mistake, especially during a heat. He never wanted to know what that felt like, having had a taste of it for a week had been enough to cause him a distress beyond mesure and he didn't even want to think about how he would feel if Kelly were to leave again. Even if he knew deep down the alpha would never, Matt made sure to give him every reason to stay. He tried to be a good mate and take care of Kelly as best as he could. He would make sure to reassure him when something was wrong, comfort him when he had a bad shift and pet his hair and his back until he felt better, until he fell asleep. He tried to give as much as he received and make Kelly happy. Little did he know, he didn't have to do much for that, a smile was often enough to make Kelly's eyes shine bright and put a smile on his face. Kelly basically loved when Matt was happy. It made him happy in turn. 

Matt hadn't realised he had lost himself in thought and had started to doze off. Kelly's lips on his cheek made him blink sleepily and he stirred a little. 

"You wanna go to bed ?" The voice was low and soft and deep and comforting and Kelly smelled like forest after rain and Matt never wanted to move again.

"Mmmh"

The heat of Kelly's body moved away as the man stood. He gently pulled on Matt's hand to get him to stand up, then wrapped an arm around his waist and the other under his knees, lifting him up bridal style with a little more difficulty than usual. The 32 pounds really made a difference and Matt couldn't help but chuckle at the remarkable effort Kelly had to make to carry him to the bedroom. He all but dropped him on the bed with a grunt and Matt kept on laughing, even as Kelly started to undress him. He tried to help him a little, lifting his hips off the bed to allow his pants to be pulled off, raising his arms over his head for Kelly to take the hoodie off too. Once in his boxer, Matt got under the sheets and waited for Kelly to join him. Snuggling in the man's arms, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to go back to those happy thoughts of his beautiful family, soon falling into a peaceful slumber.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. It's been forever. I've been incredibly busy and whenever I had a little free time, I was too exhausted to even think of writing, or was facing a serious case of blank page syndrome. I wrote this chapter little by little, trying to get back into it. Now that Im back to school, I feel like I have a little more time and more motivation. Im sorry, because I had you used to frequent updates and then disappeared suddenly, but Im good now, Im back now, and I plan on finishing this story and even writing more of them eventually.  
> Hopefully you enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you soon ! To all of you who'll still be here even after the long wait, I love you guys and thanks for the support ❤

Kelly's eyes fluttered open at the feeling of Matt frantically shaking his arm, trying to wake him up. He frowned slightly as he blinked the sleep from his eyes, straightening up a little to brace himself on his elbows and take a better look at the blonde man. Matt's hair was sticking up at odd angles and he looked worn out, as if he hadn't slept at all. Kelly took in the weariness on his face and the panicked look in his blue eyes, his frown deepening as he reached out a hand to pat the omega's knee. 

"What is it, Matty ?"

"I can't feel them kicking"

Kelly let his head fall back into the pillow, groaning at the words. The pups obviously wouldn't be kicking all day and all night long and he thought it was normal that Matt didn't feel them all the time, so he was a little grumpy to have been woken up for that reason.

"Im being serious Kelly"

"Matt, have you really stayed up all night waiting for the pups to kick ?" He groaned into the pillow, his eyes barely opened.

"Yes. Something's wrong"

Kelly could feel the distress in his omega and knew Matt wouldn't let this go until he was sure everything was fine with the pups. As the alpha, he felt it was his job to make Matt feel safe, so even though he didn't know much about babies and he just felt like going back to sleep, he pushed himself into a sitting position with a groan and leaned towards Matt to rest his head on his belly. He gave it a gentle rub, purring softly at the pups.

"Hey babies ... " 

They were usually very reactive to his voice or any growling and purring sound he made, but on this very early morning, they remained oddly quiet. It did make Kelly frown, he expected at least a flutter of movement that would reassure Matt, but nothing. He pressed his face a little more insistently into Matt's belly, trying to get a feel of what was going on inside. He could feel waves of panic coming from the omega as the pups didn't react to their daddy and it was starting to get to him, make his heart beat faster in apprehension.

"I-I don't know, Matt ... "

It did feel weird, maybe wrong even. He could tell something was different, a slight change in the scent, a different vibe that he couldn't quite explain. Kelly was getting worried too. Matt muttered that he needed some fresh air, slowing getting out of bed and standing up, arms curled protectively around his belly. Kelly watched him walk to the window and open it, then stand in front of it and gently throw his head back under the feeling of the nice cool wind against his skin. 

"Do you wanna go to the clinic ?" Kelly asked softly, ready to drive him there no matter the hour, if it would reassure them both. After everything they'd been through already, he didn't wanna risk losing another pup ... or both. He could see Matt taking deep breaths, willing himself to calm down, but it didn't seem very effective. 

"Yeah. Yeah, we should go" Matt finally agreed, turning around to face the alpha. The worry and distress on his face made Kelly's heart ache and he slowly got up to pull Matt into a hug, rubbing his warm fingers against the blonde's nape. 

"Get dressed baby, we'll go"

He released Matt and watched him open the drawers to grab some clean clothes before heading to the bathroom. While Matt was getting changed and trying to tidy himself a little in the bathroom mirror, Kelly quickly threw a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt on. He had already put his shoes on and grabbed his car keys when he suddenly heard a terrifying thud. He could feel the panick rising instantly as he rushed back to the bathroom, heart beating fast and ears ringing. Matt was lying on the bathroom floor and he was having a pretty violent seizure, his limbs thrashing around wildly. Kelly was absolutely terrified as he let himself sink to his knees next to Matt, trying to hold him down a little, to prevent him from hurting himself by hitting the furniture in his convulsing. Tears were running down his face as he sobbed helplessely, saying Matt's name repeatedly as if it would bring him out of it. Matt ... _Matt, Matty Matt please_

**_MATT_ **

Kelly's eyes snapped open as he woke with a start, a desperate scream of Matt's name dying on his lips. For a moment, he could barely tell where he was and what was happening, still lost in the aftermath of his dream. His whole body was covered in sweat and he was panting for breath. When he lifted a hand to wipe at his brow, he noticed he was shaking pretty badly. _It had felt too real_. Turning his head to look on the other side of the bed, he saw Matt sleeping peacefully there, curled in a ball with an arm draped around his belly. He looked so calm and pretty that Kelly felt his eyes sting with tears that he rapidly blinked away, leaning towards the blonde to press his face against his neck. He could see the steady rise and fall of his chest and his lips searched for Matt's pulse point, feeling the calm and steady beat of his heart under his lips as he kissed his neck softly, wrapping his arms around the omega's body to hold him close. _He'd been so scared_. He only noticed exactly how tight he was holding him when Matt gave a sleepy chuckle and murmured "You trying to break my bones there ?" 

He'd woken him up.

"Sorry baby, didn't mean to wake you up" Kelly muttered sheepishly, loosening his grip to allow Matt to turn around in his arms to face him. There was a little smile on the man's face and he didn't seem bothered by this sudden hug attack. 

"Are you okay ?" Matt could read him like an open book at times. Although he had stopped shaking, Kelly knew he still looked like a mess. 

"Bad dream ... I'm okay" 

"You wanna talk about it ?" Matt asked, even though he knew Kelly would most likely decline.

"Nah, Im good, dont worry about me" the alpha answered back with a little smile to reassure the omega. It wasn't a lie, now that he could see Matt was good and safe and smiling at him, he felt better already. He only wanted to get that nightmare out of his head and talking about it would bring back unnecessary stress. 

They stayed there in each other's arms for a while. Maybe Matt felt like Kelly needed a moment to really get over his dream, or maybe he just really enjoyed feeling his alpha so close, bathing in his scent. Probably a little bit of both. Kelly then moved to bring his head closer to Matt's belly and the blonde rolled his eyes with a sigh. He wasn't too keen on the idea of him waking the pups, which would mean more kicking. Some days, the omega could barely catch a moment of rest from their activity and they were now big and strong so the kicks hurt a little more than they used to. Still, he realised Kelly needed this and he leaned back against his pillow, tugging his shirt up to expose the bump. The alpha pressed soft kisses to the bare skin.

"Hey babies ... " His voice had dropped a little lower, all alpha rumbles and purrs and it was so warm and husky and sexy that it would've turned Matt on a little bit, if it weren't for the sudden jab in his ribs that made him groan in pain. _Thanks, Shrimp._ But it made Kelly laugh, it made him press his face against the bump and purr at the pups and talk to them in such an adorable baby talk that Matt was willing to endure all the pain and the kicks just to see him this happy. Matt reached a hand to the alpha's head, running his fingers softly through his hair as he watched him with a warm smile on his lips. 

"I'll miss this, when the pups will be born ... You talking to my belly" he offered softly and Kelly's eyes were bright and happy as he looked up at him.

"If thats all you need to be happy, I'll talk to your abs" Dummy. Matt chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. 

"Don't expect that too soon, I'll have to lose all the mommy fat before I get abs back ... "

"Will you let me grab your love handles ?" Kelly asked teasingly, a playful smile on his lips which turned into a laugh at Matt's immediate "No". The alpha still knew he would, even if it were just to annoy Matt on purpose. 

Matt eventually stretched and reached for his cellphone on the bedside table to know what time it was. Only 5 am and still, he felt wide awake now that they'd talked and cuddled and woken the pups. Dropping the phone back down, he did the effort to stand up, muttering something about his body weighting way too much for him to move like that anymore as he did so. Next step was the bathroom, because with that much weight pressing down on his poor bladder, accidents were bound to happen if he didn't go regularly. Being pregnant wasn't so bad, there were good things to it, but with three weeks left only, he was getting a little tired of it. Sure, it was nice to feel the babies move and think they had grown inside of him, but when they kicked just right into his ribs, it hurt really bad. Sure, it was nice to caress the bump, to have Kelly talk to it, but the excess weight was doing crappy things to his body like back pains and shortness of breath. The slightest effort was exhausting and yeah, he liked having the pups inside him, but he also couldn't wait to get them out of there. 

He had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly felt a slap on his ass and Kelly chuckled behind him.

"You're such a child" 

He only got his ass cheek pinched in response and rolled his eyes at the now full on laugh from Kelly. Yeah, definitely a child. That would be wonderful with the pups around, Matt would have to supervise a bunch of little kids -yeah, that included daddy.

"You hungry baby ? I'll go make breakfast" Kelly finally calmed down enough to say, and Matt replied with a nod and a little thanks, before heading for the bathroom. He took a quick shower to freshen up, changing into a clean underwear and putting on a t-shirt. He was once again greeted in the kitchen by a very nice and very full plate of eggs and bacon and pieces of toast and he smiled as he sat at the table to eat. Kelly soon placed a mug of nice hot coffee in front of him, then joined him at the table, sitting accross Matt with his own plate. 

"Are you on shift today ?" Matt had to ask. He was always home and sometimes lost track of time a little. 

"Nope. Im all yours" Kelly smiled at him and Matt smiled back. "You wanna go for a walk ?"

"What if my legs give up at some point, you'll carry me back home ?"

"Yeah"

Matt chuckled as he pictured Kelly carrying him back home, all extra weight and huge pregnant belly. Still, the idea of going for a little walk sounded nice and even though he probably wouldn't be able to go far, some fresh air and a little exercice couldn't hurt. His omega nature _loved_ staying home all comfy during his pregnancy, but Matt was also getting tired of these same walls everyday. 

"Okay, sure, let's go for a walk"

They finished their breakfast, then Matt put some pants on and brushed his teeth while Kelly took a quick shower. They were almost ready to leave, Kelly standing next to the door waiting for Matt who was putting his sneakers on. He couldn't do it standing up anymore and they had to bring a kitchen chair so he could sit and do that terrible task with the belly in the way. Sometimes Kelly helped, but most of the time, Matt insisted that he could do it on his own and got grumpy if Kelly did it for him. He wasn't a child and could tie his own shoes, pregnant or not, even if it took a couple minutes.

Finally he was done.

But as he stood up, something happened. A sudden little yelp coming from the omega as a splash could be heard, the sound of a decent amount of liquid hitting the floor at full force. They both just stood there, looking at the puddle on the floor under Matt, at the wet spot trickling down his pants, without saying a word, eyebrows raised in surprise and incomprehension.

" ... Did you just pee your pants ? " Kelly finally asked with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"You idiot, I did _not_ "

"Then what just happ- ... Oh. Ooooooh"

And to prove Kelly right in his realization, a contraction came out of nowhere and rushed through Matt, who groaned at the sudden pain and could immediately tell that it wasn't a fake one. That one meant business. _Well fuck._ Matt was glued to the spot, his brain momentarily unabled to process what he should do next. Luckily for him, Kelly had immediately fallen into protective mate mode and was already rushing to the bedroom for clean pants, stopping by the bathroom for a towel. He was quickly back to help Matt out of his wet pants, drying his legs with the towel and giving him the clean pants to put on so he could rush him to the clinic. Kelly was already out the door when he heard Matt groan again and turned around to see him leaning against the doorframe, momentarily stopped there as a contraction made him unable to move, unable to breathe. The pain wasn't _that_ bad, he had endured worse, but it still was sharp and came very suddenly and it stopped him in his tracks. 

"Come on Matt" Kelly urged him on.

"I can't, give me a minute ... " the omega winced at the pain, trying to catch his breath.

Kelly was having none of it. The alpha was freaking out a bit and he wasn't on board with waiting for Matt to be able to walk again. He wasted no time, rushing to the omega and grabbing him in such a way that Matt knew instantly what he was about to do.

"W-Wait- don't you dare drop me" he called out as he was being lifted from his feet, blinding grabbing for the door to at least close it behind them before Kelly turned around and carried him to the car. Well, seemed like they were leaving without locking the door. Hopefully they wouldn't come back with two babies and discover the place had been picked clean ... 

Kelly all but forced him into the car, struggling to sit him properly before hurrying to the driver's side. Matt kept mostly silent the whole ride to the clinic, grunting at times from a pretty harsh contraction. Kelly kept muttering under his breath that it was too early for the babies to come, even though the omega tried and reassure him that three weeks early wasn't premature. They made it to the clinic in no time and Kelly again hurried to Matt's side to help him out of the car and once again swipe him off his feet to carry him inside, Matt's cheeks pink with embarrassement under the looks they got. 

The first nurse they saw once inside recognised them immediately and took them to a room right away, giving Matt a gown to change into while she went to get the doctor. After that, everything went so fast and in such a blurr of information, medical procedures they didnt quite understand and emotions all over the place. 

Although fathers are usually allowed during the C-section to support the mother through the procedure, they weren't too fond of the idea of letting Kelly inside, due to his alpha nature and the very protective mode he was in since the beginning of labor. The last thing they needed was him jumping at their throat while they delivered the babies. Kelly insisted that he could behave and keep the instincts in check and the omega nodded his approval. 

"I trust him. He'd never do anything that could cause me or the babies any harm"

The alpha and the omega exchanged a knowing look, both thinking back to the same event, when Kelly had bailed for a week. He had hurt Matt and the pups once before and swore to never hurt them again. He had proved himself over time and knowing that Matt still trusted him that much even after everything he had put him through made Kelly smile brightly, bending down to kiss the omega's forehead. 

"I'll be right here with you"

It wasn't nearly as long as Kelly thought it would be. He held Matt's hand through the procedure, softly growling at times but his alpha instincts calmed down by the fact that Matt wasn't in pain due to anesthesia. Forty-five minutes later, it was all over, no complications, nothing. For once, luck seemed to be on their side. Hearing the first cries of their babies overwhelmed both men and brought tears to Matt's eyes as a first baby was brought to him. A beautiful little girl. Matt knew he obviously wasn't objective here, but he believed that was the most beautiful baby in the whole world. He held her close, pressing a soft and gentle kiss to her forehead and holding back tears of happiness ... of relief. He glanced up at Kelly when a nurse walked up to him and placed the second baby in his arms with a very heartfelt "There you go daddy". The moment was surreal. Surely all the nurses and doctors were very touched by the scene, seeing these bonded mates together at the beginning of this beautiful adventure. Kelly looked at him, smiling broadly, his eyes bright. 

"You did it ... You gave me a little boy _and_ a little princess"

Matt chuckled and watched as Kelly turned his attention back to his son, holding him close to his heart and caressing his tiny closed fist with the tip of a finger. He then proceeded to stick his tongue out to the baby. Very typical Kelly. 

"So this little guy here gave you trouble, huh" he mused softly and Matt smiled.

"Bring him closer"

Kelly walked up to the bed and bend down so that Matt could bury his nose in his son's hair and neck, before pulling back with a little smirk. Call it instinct, call it omega mom superpower, but he had a different take on that one.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I think your princess was the little asskicker"

"Really ? So you mean ... "

"Im not sure. Guess we'll have to see. But I bet we'll have more trouble keeping up with our little princess than with this sweet baby boy "

"We'll have trouble anyway, lets be honest, two toddlers at the same time ? It'll be war. We'll have to be prepared"

"Maybe we should give them names first, though"

Kelly chuckled and pressed a kiss to Matt's lips, lingering in his space a moment longer to murmur "I love you". 

It certainly wouldn't be perfect and they both knew it. Having one baby was a thing, but two meant twice the hard work, and it was their firsts, so they still were inexperienced. They would manage, but would definitely have to work as a team and Matt would need Kelly by his side. This time, however, he absolutely didn't feel like Kelly would bail anymore. Seeing him go with the pups, as they traded babies so they could both meet the other pup, Matt knew they would be okay. His smile, his smell, the look in his eyes ... He was in love with the pups already and nothing would ever come in between him and the wellbeing of his babies. He would be a great dad, Matt was sure of it.

He felt exhausted, but he felt happy. He wasn't scared of what would come next. They would face it together.

And if he had a thought for their lost pup, it wasn't one of pain. It was the thought of a beautiful pup being born into Heaven and being cradled in the arms of angels, warm and safe and ... happy. 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading your nice comments on the new chapter, still there with me on this journey even after such a long time with no update, made me incredibly happy and motivated me to write more. Here's another chapter right away, little gift to you faithful readers and my way of apologising for that long and sudden hiatus !

Fourteen months.

Fourteen months full of magical moments, exhausting moments and basically no life outside of those two pups.

Having a baby was hard. Having twins was harder.

Having twins while recovering from a C-Section was hellish. The first six weeks had been the hardest, for the scar on Matt's lower abdomen itched and hurt as it slowly healed. Six weeks of hurting when he laughed or when he coughed, six weeks of slowly walking around trying to keep active without exercising too much, and avoiding stairs altogether. Six weeks of lifting up nothing heavier than the pups, only one at a time and with no bending down whatsoever in fear of ripping the stitches open. Six weeks of having absolutely zero sex with Kelly, even though seeing him being so good and cute with the pups sometimes made Matt crave the alpha's body on top of his ... and that was one weird sort of daddy kink he hadn't expected. 

But then the scar had healed, and things had becore easier. Being more functional in his everyday life helped in caring for the pups and they soon all found their rythmn as a family. Kelly had been incredibly patient throughout Matt's recovery, helping him with tasks he couldn't manage on his own and caring for the pups when his omega needed a well-deserved rest. They took turns waking up at night to care for the babies and supported each other through it all. It wasn't easy, but it could've gone way worse.

Fourteen months now and Matt couldn't believe how fast time was flying and how fast the babies were growing. Mila was a very active little one and though she still didn't talk much yet, apart from the occasional 'Mommy' or 'Daddy', she was practically running around all day long, already trying to climb on furniture and throwing herself off of it like a stuntman. Then, when stopped in her dangerous endeavours, she would throw epic tantrums. Matt had been right, it was harder to keep up with her than with Anthony. Mostly because Anthony could barely stand on his own two feet and prefered to cry and wail to be noticed, so they never lost him around the house and could usually calm him down pretty easily with a pacifier and a little bit of Kelly's purring or Matt's comforting scent. 

They could already notice huge differences in their babies' development and personalities. Anthony was a crier. He would burst into tears for any reason and tend to be shy around strangers. When he'd first met their friends at 51, he'd kept his face hidden in Matt's neck and only reluctantly looked up for a few minutes so they could see his angelic little face and bright blue eyes under his soft light brown curls. He was also pretty talkative and already had quite a few words in his vocabulary. Mila, on the other hand, didn't cry much but would scream and throw tantrums when something didn't please her. She had energy to sell and wasn't afraid of much. She'd smiled and waved at any member of their 51 family that was introduced to her, eager to meet new people and get them to play with her or chase her around. With her blond hair and blue eyes, she had everything of the little princess, except she had quite the attitude. It pleased Kelly, because it reassured him that nobody would ever hurt his little princess without consequences ... they already knew she wouldn't take shit from anybody. Matt also knew she wouldn't be one to wear pretty dresses and play dolls. It was only a matter of time before she played war with the neighborhood kids and came back all muddy and covered in bruises or scratches. It wouldn't be Anthony's style, Matt was also sure of that. 

Two very different pups, yet they loved them both equally, to the moon and back. 

_Even though they sometimes briefly thought of suffocating them with a pillow._

Matt groaned as Anthony started crying once again. They'd barely been able to catch a break, lying together on their bed and relaxing while the babies were taking a nap. It was one of the only moments they could really breathe and have time for themselves. Of course, a long and undisturbed nap was too much to ask for. Matt meant to stand up, but Kelly held him back and pulled him back against his chest, tightly wrapping an arm around him.

"Let him cry ... He'll calm himself down"

"Kelly ... "

It was against Matt's very nature. It felt wrong, it felt horrible to hear his baby cry and not make a move to go and help him, go and see what was wrong and care for his pup. The omega mom in Matt hated this very moment and it took everything not to fight against Kelly's arms. He was tensed in the alpha's arms, frowning as the crying only seemed to grow louder with each passing second. Kelly started to rub a soothing hand on his arm, then moved to slip said hand under his shirt and rub at his chest. 

"Kelly"

"He's not in distress ... You know those cries, Matt. You know him by heart. You know he's okay."

"But he's still crying ... "

"He cries all the time. You don't have to be there every time, you'll only teach him that it's a proper way to get what he wants"

"I hate you ... " Matt muttered, relaxing back against his alpha and _feeling_ him smirk behind him. He knew Kelly was right, but it still felt wrong. His only hope now was that the pup would calm down soon enough and wouldn't wake Mila up, or they'd have both a crying baby _and_ a screaming one. 

"Love you too" He felt Kelly's lips on the back of his neck, moving to his ear and nibbling at the lobe while his fingers traced the scar on Matt's lower abdomen. It was pretty sensitive, but not in a painful way, and a little gasp escaped the omega's lips at the touch. He arched his back a little, chasing the touch of Kelly's fingers while mumbling that Kelly was an ass and that the moment was very poorly chosen for such intimate touching. Part of him wanted to stop him, but another part craved the touch and the proximity. _He needed that knot._ How many times had they slept together since Matt had given birth ? Exactly twice in fourteen months. They didn't get the time, and in the rare moments when they did, they were often too exhausted for that and fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow. Matt missed it and he knew Kelly did too, but they should've known having pups would definitely have an impact on their sex life ...

Now seemed as good a time as any, and with Anthony's crying slowly stopping, Matt was about to give in when they suddenly heard a thud coming from the pups' room and just like that, the magic was gone. This time, Kelly could do nothing to keep his omega from standing up and hurrying to his babies like the good mom that he was. More fear than harm, only Mila who had thrown things off her crib, but when Matt came back to Kelly after having successfully put both pups back to sleep, the moment was gone.

Many times during the following two weeks, Kelly tried his chance at more intimate moments. His favorite move was to softly brush Matt's scar with his fingers, loving the feel of it and also knowing that it turned Matt on. Many times, the alpha thought he could win Matt over, but then something always happened that ruined the moment or prevented them from going further. Kelly was always left unsatisfied and grumpy. It was getting insane. 

What Kelly hadn't expected, though, was that his little plan to try and finally have sex with Matt would result in the mess that followed.

Matt was gone to buy groceries when Kelly suddenly got a call from him. The omega sounded a little panicked and breathless on the phone.

"Kel, you gotta come get me. Now"

"What, why ? Where ?"

"In the little woods behind the grocery store. Be quick"

"What the hell Matt, what's wrong ?"

"Just _hurry_ "

Kelly couldn't understand what was wrong but he knew Matt wouldn't call him if he didn't really need his help, so he quickly grabbed the pups and took them with him. Once they were both safely in their seats, Kelly got behind the wheel and quickly drove to the grocery store. He went to park as close to the woods as he could manage and got out of the car, calling Matt's phone because he didn't dare go look for him and leave the pups alone in the car. 

"Im here. Where are you ?"

"Coming"

A minute later, Matt emerged from behind the trees and walked up to the car. He was shaking pretty badly, his gray shirt sticking to him and his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. He didn't say a word and got in the car, Kelly following. What wasn't too noticeable yet, when outside in fresh air, hit him like a ton of bricks once they were both in the car and sharing the same enclosed space.

"Shit Matt ... Herrmann's ?"

"Yeah"

"Do we grab the pups' stuff ?"

"Yeah, yeah we still have time, Im okay. I just called you because I didn't think it was safe to drive ... " He held up his hands to show Kelly how bad he was shaking. "Just ... don't touch me"

They made their way back home and started to prepare bags for the pups right away. They made sure they had everything, from clothes to diapers to pacifiers and favorite toys. Matt was a bit stressed to let the pups go like that for what would possibly be a week, maybe more. He wanted everything to go well and feared of forgetting to put something important in the bags, but Kelly reminded him that Herrmann lived close enough and that it would be no trouble getting them the stuff they'd forgotten, if needed. They finally made it back to the car and Kelly drove them to Herrmann's place. Matt felt really bad as they knocked on the door- they should have called before, asked if it was alright, but in his state he wasn't exactly thinking clearly. When their friend opened the door, soon joined by his wife, Kelly wasted no time in asking the question. 

"Sorry to drop this on you like that but could you watch over the twins for ... well ... "

" ... a week or so ?" Matt finished his sentence, rubbing the back on his head nervously as he felt them both study him, take in his appearance and realise what was going on.

"Of course we can, you guys!" Cindy quickly said as she got closer to take Anthony from Matt's arms. The baby made a little noise but didn't break into crying, much to Matt's relief. 

Herrmann reached to take the other twin and hold her with one arm, grabbing the bags with his free hand. 

"Don't worry, we got this. We already have five, babies don't scare us" he joked with a smile and Matt chuckled, relieved. 

"We can't take you enough for this ... " 

"Shhh honey, you go take care of yourself and we'll handle these two sweethearts" Cindy smiled at him and they both smiled back, nodding and thanking them one last time before going back to the car and driving home.

Kelly was way too happy for his own good. They were barely home that he was grinning like a shark, grabbing at Matt and pulling him flush against his body. He didn't dare say that he was happy with this turn of events, but he actually was. It gave them an excuse to have a break from the pups and have all the sex they wanted and badly needed after so long without. Matt was being his omega self, letting Kelly manhandle him, but still finding a way to complain that he already worried for and missed the pups.

"Really Matt ? You're going into heat, we haven't had sex in ages, and all you care about are the pups, who are in very good hands with Herrmann and Cindy ?" 

"Im being dumb, am I ?"

Kelly didn't bother answering. Instead, he cupped Matt's face and caught his lips in a deep, heated kiss. Matt didn't need much more to fully tip over into his heat, slick pooling in his underwear as he melted in his alpha's arms, moaning into the kiss. It felt different this time, going into heat with an already bonded mate. It felt like the heat itself was milder, his body still very much wanting Kelly's but his mind didn't feel as cloudy and he actually thought he would enjoy it even more. He ran his fingers in Kelly's hair, getting a good grip on the back of the alpha's head to deepen the kiss and press his body into his until there was no more space between them, until they couldnt get any closer together. It was hot and messy and wet as they hotly licked at each other's mouth, barely parting for breath, until Kelly pushed his omega back so he could start undressing him. His warm hands set Matt's skin on fire, his forest scent invading his senses and making the omega ache with want, with need. They took no time getting their clothes off, discarding them on the livingroom floor as they met again for another kiss. Kelly couldn't be bothered with walking to the bedroom, so he gently pushed his omega back until his legs hit the couch and he fell backwards on it, the alpha crawling over him and covering his body with his. Matt welcomed the weight with a breathy moan, pushing his hips up to meet Kelly's in search of friction. Under Kelly, he felt warm and good and protected and the nice cosy feeling mixed itself with his growing arousal in a way that felt just right. Right there, right now, he couldn't think of a better place to be than trapped between the couch and his alpha's warm and strong body. 

Still, Matt had the reflex to reach for Kelly and pull at his hair to get his attention before things went too far.

"Condoms"

It made Kelly laugh and Matt smiled as he watched the man reluctantly push himself off him and walk towards the bedroom. They both knew they had to be careful this time, because the first pups had become a nice surprising gift and they adored them, but they certainly didn't want more. Not right now, probably not ever. Two were plenty enough. 

Kelly was taking ages to come back and Matt's body was craving his touch like crazy.

"Keeeel"

"So needy" came the amused answer as the alpha threw a few condoms on Matt's bare chest and settled back between the omega's legs. Soon, Kelly's tongue started to trace the scar on Matt's lower abdomen, relishing in the needy little noises the omega was making. He was really glad Matt hadn't been too shy or self-conscious about the mommy weight he hadn't all been able to lose yet. Kelly honestly didn't mind it and Matt was still far from being fat, even though his muscles weren't as visible as they once were. If anything, it made for a nice and comfy pillow when they were watching a movie, and Matt would fake complain that he hated it, with the hint of a smile on his lips. They were good and Matt still was the most beautiful human being ever in Kelly's eyes. 

"You're gorgeous" he murmured, worshiping Matt's body with kisses and tracing wet trails with his tongue down the man's body. Even without looking up, he could tell the omega was blushing. 

It had started urgent, but ended up being loving and caring. It wasn't just sex, it was love happening in its purest form, a warm and trusting body giving in to another one in a true act of love and passion and desire. It wasn't rushed, it was slow and intense and they took the time to feel and enjoy every second of it. They came together with a last groan, never moving as they were locked together by the knot and holding each other through it until nothing else mattered and their senses were only full of each other. 

It took a minute for Matt to realise he was crying. He couldn't help it, he felt overwhelmed with love and other very positive feelings that were so strong and pure he felt like he might burst. He had everything he'd never even known he wanted, the most perfect mate an omega could ask for and two very beautiful pups that he loved more than anything. He had a family like he'd never had before, one he wished he'd had when he was only a child himself. Throwing his arms around Kelly, he buried his face in the crook of his neck and hugged him tight, sobbing softly. "I love you"

Because there was nothing else to say. Because it meant everything all at once. He loved Kelly and he loved the pups and he loved his life. He finally felt like all the missing puzzle pieces had been put into place and he was now complete. No matter what life still had in store for them, he knew they would be ready.

Together, as a family.


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to finish this, I've been very busy irl  
> But finally ! Here's the final chapter, thank you for your support through this whole adventure ❤  
> Merry Christmas and a happy New Year !! xx

Kelly was sitting at the squad table, hands behind his head and feet crossed and propped on the table, smiling as he watched Truck back up into the firehouse and his favorite person in the whole world jump off the passenger seat. Matt was as gloriously good-looking as ever, even with his hair sticking up at odd angles from his helmet and especially with his soot smeared face. He looked delicious. Even after so many years, Kelly just wasn't getting bored of his beautiful and caring omega. He still loved everything about him, from his sometimes standoffish demeanor to the heart of gold he was hiding underneath, and every single day he got to spend with Matt was a blessing in itself.

"Looking good, Captain"

His smile widened as Matt walked towards him, barely brushing his lips against his in a ghost of a kiss as he brushed past him. Kelly watched him go with a pout.

"Hey !" 

"Shower" was Matt's answer as he briefly turned to grin at him before making his way inside the house.

Kelly's phone suddenly started vibrating in his pocket and he fished it out, frowning as he didn't recognize the caller ID. The call was short and straight to the point and left Kelly still frowning, but this time with annoyance. He pushed himself up and walked inside the firehouse, going straight to the showers and standing in front of the only occupied one.

"Matt ?"

"Yeah ?"

"School called. The twins have been fighting, I gotta go pick them up"

"What ??" Matt's face appeared as he pulled the shower curtain aside to look at Kelly, water running down his face, his expression one of pure disbelief. "That's not ... Anthony too ??"

"I don't know, it wasn't clear, they just said something went down with some other kid"

"Shit. Uh ... Do you want me to go ?"

"Nah it's cool I got this. I'll see what's up and come back for the end of shift if I can"

"Call me when you know more"

"Alright"

A quick peck on the lips and Kelly left, walking straight to the Chief's office. It wasn't usual for him to ask to leave right in the middle of shift, but this was an important matter and he knew the chief would understand. Matt and Kelly had always made sure to miss as little work as possible even with the twins, making sure their chief and their men knew they could still count on them. 

"Chief, have someone cover for me, the kids have been fighting at school, I gotta deal with this. Its urgent, Im sorry"

"Go, we got you covered"

As he was rushing out of the Chief's office, the alpha was intercepted by Herrmann calling out to him. "Hey Captain!" He stopped in his tracks, turning around so he could glance at the man. He loved Herrmann and he was grateful for everything him and his beautiful family had done for Matt and him over the past years, but right now, he felt jumpy and kind of in a hurry and he wasn't too happy with the sudden call of his name. Thankfully, Herrmann was only being his wholesome and supportive self and Kelly felt a little pang of guilt because of his last thoughts. "I heard you talking about what happened ... You do what you gotta do, but if you don't wanna leave them home alone, bring them to my house. Cindy's home, she'll take care of 'em. I'll call her so she knows you might drop them off"

Kelly couldn't fight the smile on his lips, nodding and clasping the man on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Herrmann. Lieutenant" he added with a little playful smirk, laughing when Herrmann gave him a little push to make him hurry towards the exit.

When he entered the school, he still hadn't figured out what the hell could've happened. It wasn't like the twins to be the violent type and he felt sure there had been a misunderstanding. Sure, Mila had quite the temper, but she wouldn't hurt people like that. Anthony ... Well, needless to say, Anthony wouldn't hurt a fly. 

The first thing he noticed was Mila sitting in a chair in the entrance, arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. When she realised he was there, she defiantly looked straight in front of her, ignoring him. Kelly clearly wasn't impressed and he walked up to her, running gentle fingers through her long hair. She didn't push him away but didn't acknowledge him either. 

"What happened ?"

No answer. She really was angry and as a typical teenager, she was turning that anger against him instead of properly dealing with it. Time for some alpha mojo. Kelly didn't use it very often, the alpha voice that meant business, discipline and that you'd better listen and obey- mostly because it made Matt weak in the knees and that was inapropriate in front of the twins. Still, he didn't like to feel like he pushed his children into listening to him, but he sometimes found it quite useful in situations like these, where Mila wasn't actually mad at _him_ and it would only help in getting some answers. It worked wonders, because as soon as he asked his question again, his tone leaving no place to arguing, she finally looked up at him.

"I punched Elliot in the face and kicked him in the nuts"

Well. So much for saying the twins weren't violent.

"Why ?"

Mila suddenly jumped off her chair, fire in her eyes and her temper flaring again.

"Because he's a stupid jerk and he made fun of Anthony and called him a bitch and a pussy, and I fucking destroyed him"

"Language"

"I FUDGING DESTROYED HIM"

She took a second to breathe, lowering her gaze as if expecting her dad to be mad at her for what she'd done. What actually happened was Kelly chuckling and pulling her close for a hug, still petting her hair softly. "Attagirl ... " He knew he shouldn't be encouraging that behavior and Matt would surely explain that violence wasn't a solution to problems like these, but the alpha in Kelly just felt proud that Mila had stood up for her brother and could defend herself well, even against guys. She was a fierce fourteen year old. 

"Where's Anthony ?"

"In the bathroom, he said he wasn't feeling too well ... I'll go get him"

Kelly waited as his daughter left to go get her brother. She didn't mind stepping into the boys' bathroom, softly calling Anthony's name. When she mentionned Kelly was there, the poor kid emerged from a stall and wiped his face with his sleeve, following his sister to the school's entrance. As soon as he spotted his dad, he quickly walked up to him and buried his face in his chest, throwing his arms around his waist and holding him tight. It suddenly occured to Kelly that something smelled off. Something ... More like someone. He gently stroked Anthony's back, processing everything for a minute before he took action. 

"Let's get you guys home" 

The ride home was awfully silent, mostly because Kelly was lost in thoughts and slightly panicking, and the twins weren't in a mood to talk at all. Once they were back home, Anthony started whining that he felt hot and that he had a headache. Kelly could see that it all affected Mila and frankly, he could understand. It affected him too. The alpha in him neeeded to care and protect. He really was at a lost there, feeling out of his comfort zone. Between Mila's sharp scent and Anthony's sweet one, he felt like his head was spinning and his senses were going into overload. He opted for a quick fix of sending Anthony under a cold shower, gaining a few minutes to think. He had to call Matt.

But the phone kept on ringing and ringing, until it went to voicemail. Matt was probably on a call ... shit. 

"Hey Matt, uh ... I kinda need your expertise on ... well ... I need you, it's happening"

He hung up and sighed, rubbing both his hands against his face in an attempt to clear his head a little and figure out what to do next. Turning to his daughter, he gently pet her hair once, twice. She looked up at him, biting her lip.

"Is Anthony gonna be okay ?"

"Yeah, yeah he will ... We'll take care of it. Its nothing you should bear on your shoulders, mom and I, we got this. Do you wanna go to Christopher's ? Cindy's there, she's expecting you, you could ride your bike there"

She nodded, visibly relieved that she didn't have to stay around for that part. Now matter how hard the twins could bicker and fight at times, their bond was greater than words could possibly explain and seeing, _feeling_ her brother like that, she hated it. She didn't need to be offered twice and grabbed her school backpack, throwing it over one shoulder and walking out the door. "Call me when you get there" Kelly had to ask, and she replied with a short "Okay" before she was gone. That left only Anthony to deal with, which was plenty enough in the actual circumstances.

Kelly waited for his son to come out of the bathroom, going over all the things he could possibly say and do to calm the teenager down. His mind kept coming up blank. He wasn't prepared for this situation, and he'd stupidly thought that Matt would be there to deal with it when push came to shove ... But Matt wasn't here and Kelly had to step up.

When Anthony joined him in the living room, he looked like a kicked puppy. He was sweating in his oversized hoodie but claimed to be cold, and if Kelly looked closely, he could see him shaking a little. 

"Whats wrong with me daddy ... ? "

Kelly sat on the couch and Anthony went to sit next to him, resting his head against his dad's shoulder.

"You remember what mommy told you about presenting ?"

"Yeah .... You think that's what's happening ?"

Kelly nodded and Anthony whined, understanding what it meant. He remembered Matt telling them about the various signs and what they meant and he realised what he was experiencing was nothing like what Mila had gone through last month. He knew. He hated it.

"WHY ? Why can't I be like Mila ? I don't wanna be an omega ... " Tears were forming in his eyes and Kelly closed his arms around him, holding him as Anthony broke down into crying. The alpha let him cry for a moment, allowing him to live his emotions until he felt better and could pull back a little, wiping his face with his sleeve. 

"You know, Anthony ... There are some things in life that we have no control over, like whether we present as alpha or omega ...But we do have control over the way we perceive that. You have control over whether you decide to see being an omega as a weakness or a strength. You have control over the choices you make, either pitying yourself or taking action and doing what you wanna do, despite people telling you otherwise or those things not being typical for omegas"

Anthony seemed genuinely interested in what his dad was saying, looking at him with wide ans curious eyes. Kelly took it as a sign that he was doing good and he kept talking.

"See mommy ? He's an omega, and he still became a firefighter. One of the bests, even. Because he took control over the choices he made and the perception he had of himself and he worked hard to achieve what he wanted to be. You can do that too"

" ... I could still become an astronaut ? Or a paramedic ?"

"Definitely. Anything you wanna be, if you work hard and believe in yourself"

Kelly couldnt help but feel extremely proud as a smile finally brightened Anthony's face. Proud of his own speech, but also proud of his beautiful son, of his daughter ... Of Matt and him as parents, and of them all as a family. They were doing good and dealing with life events as they came, as best as they could. The twins were turning out great. They were happy.

"How about a hot chocolate and we watch a movie ?" Kelly offered and the enthusiasm on Anthony's face meant everything. Kelly made sure he took care of him -and he knew how, for he took care of Matt many times before. Sure, with Matt, a lot of sex was involved, but there were also moments when the omega just wanted to feel loved and cherished and cared for, all snuggled up in blankets with his alpha purring soflty at him. That part, Kelly knew very well, and he could be there for his son in a way Matt wouldn't be. The alpha way.

So he sat with Anthony on the couch, with their cups of hot chocolate and their blankets, and they watched a movie. He let Anthony cuddle against him, throwing an arm around his shivering body and holding him close to make him feel safe. By the time the movie was over, Anthony was sleeping against him and Kelly smiled as he turned off the TV and closed his eyes for a little nap himself. He was woken up by his phone ringing and Anthony shifting against him. 

Matt was calling.

"What should we tell mom ?" he asked.

"That we're okay" Anthony replied instantly with a shrug. 

Kelly answered the call and barely had time to say hello before a very worried omega mom asked about his pup. 

"How is he ?" Kelly chuckled softly, realizing he must have scared Matt with his previous voicemail. Admittedly, he did sound like he was freaking out and at a loss when he left it.

"Good. Everything's under control here, don't worry" 

"Ah, good ... so you don't need me ?"

"You can finish your shift and we'll take care until you're back. Just let the chief know I wont be coming back today"

"Alright" Matt didn't sound entirely convinced but he didn't argue. "Call me if you need anything"

"Will do. Be careful, love you"

"Love you"

The alpha hung up, only noticing he was smiling widely when Anthony pointed it out. Truth be told, he actually felt quite proud to be here, handling the situation well, without needing Matt to intervene. Some things seemed to come more naturally to Matt, probably due to HIS omega nature, and he'd always been good with the pups. Kelly felt like he had to learn more over time, as things didn't seem to come as easily to him. Some subjects scared him more than others, puberty and presenting being one of them, but he'd been able to deal with it and part of him felt proud as hell and happy to tell Matt to stay at work. He didn't need him all the time. He could be a good dad on his own too. 

Matt came home in the morning, looking exhausted, but beautiful as ever. To his credit, he came to Kelly for a hug and a kiss before asking about Anthony. He trusted his alpha when he said everything was fine. 

"How's my pup this morning ?"

"Your _fourteen year_ _old_ pup is in his room with his sister. She was a bit overwhelmed yesterday but came back from Herrmann's this morning and insisted on taking care of Anthony. Last time I checked, she was braiding his hair " Kelly smiled as they heard the twins laugh and Matt chuckled. 

"Sounds like they're having fun"

Mila's very familiar scent and her beautiful alpha energy indeed seemed to calm Anthony down and make him feel good. There was a strong bond between the twins that couldn't be denied and helped them care for each other. They were beautiful, Matt thought as he stood in the doorframe and watched them play together. Anthony, his soft little boy, patient as ever while Mila tugged and pulled at his hair trying to make fine braids out of it. He would make a strong and caring omega one day, Matt was sure of it. Mila would make a very fine alpha herself, for she had a beautiful energy and a very fierce nature, but a nice softness to her also, that brought her to care for others. 

He couldn't be more proud of the teenagers their pups had become, and he knew they'd keep making him proud and happy as they grew older. 

Matt walked back to the kitchen without disturbing his children in their sweet moment. Kelly was leaning against the kitchen island, a smug smile on his lips that made Matt smile in turn.

"I did good, didn't I ?" Matt grinned and walked up to him, crowding him against the kitchen island. 

"Yes _daddy_ , you did good" 

"I don't need you anymore, then. You can go"

"You'd miss this pretty face too much" Kelly laughed at those words and reached for Matt with both hands, bringing him flush against his body and brushing his lips against his. 

"You're right, I would" the alpha replied in a murmur, smiling against Matt's lips before he kissed him. 

They kissed like that for a moment, slowly and softly, but just as Matt parted his lips to deepen the kiss, they heard a "Ewwwww mom and dad are kissing again, gross" and they gently broke apart with a laugh. They should've known. The twins, like any children, seemed to have the ability to know the exact moment they should look to surprise their parents kissing and comment about it or physically force them apart. One day they'd grow old enough to stop that ... hopefully soon, Matt thought with a smile. 

But he wouldn't have it any other way.

Hard to believe that fifteen years earlier, he couldn't care less about alphas, even less about Kelly Severide. The now father of his children, his mate of fifteen years, the man he wanted to share the rest of his life with and grow old with. All of it because of the stupid scent suppressents he'd forgotten to buy, and the new delivery not making it there in time. Crazy how things had changed for the better, his life taking a turn he never would've expected, but that he now loved more than anything. The feeling of love and gratitude was overwhelming and Matt suddenly turned back to Kelly, grabbing both his hands and holding them in his.

"Marry me ?"

"I thought you'd never ask"

_The end_


End file.
